L  I  E)  RAFLY 
OF  THE 
U  N  IVLRSITY 
Of  ILLINOIS 


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CHRIST  BLESSING  LITTLE  CHILDREN. 


BY  COUSIN  AIICE. 


PHILADELPHIA: 
P.  HAZARD,  178  CHESNUT  STREET. 
1851. 


ALICE  B.  NEAL, 

AUTHOR    OF    <*HELEN    MORTON'S    TRIAL,"  &C. 


PHILADELPHIA: 
WILLIS  P.  HAZARD,  178  CHESNUT  STREET. 
185  1, 


Entered,  according  to  the  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1850,  by 
WILLIS  P.  HAZARD, 
in  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  United  States  for 
the  Eastern  District  of  Pennsylvania. 


K 

SlUstratiDiis* 


.■v,-\r\/VVVV\/VVVVW 


I. 

CHEIST,  THE  REDEEMER 

PAGE. 

.       .  7 

II. 

CHRIST  BLESSING  LITTLE  CHILDREN 

14 

III. 

THE  MOTHER  OF  OUR  SAVIOUR  . 

.  20 

IV. 

THE  ANGEL  AND  THE  SHEPHERDS  . 

30 

V. 

THE  FLIGHT  INTO  EGYPT 

.  42 

VI. 

CHRIST'S  TEMPTATION 

50 

VII. 

CHRIST  AND  THE  WOMAN  OF  CANAAN 

.  64 

vin. 

CHRIST  RAISING  THE  WIDOW'S  SON 

75 

IX. 

THE  TRIBUTE  MONEY  . 

.  86 

X. 

CHRIST  PRAYING  ON  THE  MOUNT 

97 

XI. 

CHRIST  CROWNED  WITH  THORNS 

.  108 

XII. 

THE  TOMB  OF  CHRIST 

120 

XIII. 

CHRIST  APPEARING  TO  MARY  IN  THE 

GARDEN  132 

XIV. 

PETER  DELIVERED  FROM  PRISON  BY  THE  ANGEL  143 

XV. 

PAUL  PREACHING  AT  ATHENS 

.  152 

XVI. 

PAUL  SHIPWRECKED 

160 

XVII. 

ST.  JOHN  

.  168 

XVIII. 

AN  ANGEL  BINDING  SATAN 

174 

(iii) 


FOR 

MADGE  AND  ANNIE.  ' 


When  I  saw  that  you,  as  well  as  some  other  little 
girls  of  my  acquaintance,  were  so  interested  in  ''Helen 
Morton's  Trial,"  I  thought  that  as  soon  as  I  could  find 
leisure,  I  would  write  another  book  for  children. 

I  had  noticed,  that  many  among  my  young  friends 
seemed  to  think  Sunday  a  very  tiresome  day;  and  I 
must  confess  that,  when  I  was  no  older  than  you,  it  was 
so  with  me.  One  reason  was,  that  I  was  very  fond  of 
reading,  but  did  not  find  "  Sunday  books"  interesting. 
We  used  to  read  many  chapters  in  the  Bible,  but  it 
always  seemed  like  a  history  of  something  which  we 
had  no  interest  in;  for  though  I  knew  of  how  much  im- 
portance its  holy  teachings  were,  I  could  not  feel  it. 

So  now  I  thought  I  would  try  to  interest  those  who 
call  me  "Cousin  Alice,"  in  some  of  the  beautiful  stories 
we  find  in  the  New  Testament,  that  thus  they  might 
wish  to  read  it  for  themselves,  as  a  pleasure  rather  than 
a  task.  I  found  a  portfolio  of  pictures  the  very  things 
for  my  purpose;  and  these  have  been  engraved,  and  are 
bound  up  in  this  volume,  to  illustrate  the  stories. 


vi 


INTRODUCTION. 


You  will  find,  in  the  first  place,  that  they  make  a 
complete  narrative  of  the  principle  events  in  the  life 
of  our  Saviour.  Then  there  is  a  history  of  what  his 
disciples  did,  after  he  left  them ;  and  so  you  will  see 
how  the  Christian  church  —  which  now  has  so  many 
thousand  members  in  every  part  of  the  world  —  was 
first  formed. 

And  that  the  blessing  of  Him  who  has  "  caused  all 
Holy  Scripture  to  be  written  for  our  learning,"  may 
come  not  only  to  you,  but  to  every  house  which  this 
little  book  may  enter. 

Is  the  sincere  wish  of 
Your  friend, 

ALICE  B.  NEAK 


THE  FIRST  PICTUHE. 


CHRIST,  THE  REDEEMER. 

To-morrow  is  Sunday,''  said  Faniiie  Elliott. 
It  was  the  close  of  a  very  bright  afternoon, 
which  the  little  people  at  Oatlands  had  enjoyed 

very  much. 

Sunday !  Oh,  dear,  so  it  is.  I  hate  Sun- 
day," answered  her  cousin  Dora, 

What  a  dreadful  thing  to  say !  Fie  on  you, 
Dora!" 

"  Well!  I  don't  care,  I  do  hate  it,  and  I 'm 
not  going  to  tell  a  He,  and  pretend  it 's  pleasant. 
I  don't  like  going  to  school,  and  it 's  worse  at 
home.    I  wish  there  was  n't  any  Sunday." 

(7) 


8 


CHRIST,  THE  REDEEMER. 


Dora  was  a  pretty  little  girl  about  seven  years 
old.  She  was  on  a  visit  to  Oatlands  from  Bos- 
ton, where  her  papa  Hved.  Oatlands  was  the 
name  of  Mr.  Elliott's  place ;  and  Fannie  and 
Carrie,  the  two  little  girls  sitting  by  Dora,  were 
his  daughters.  They  had  been  at  play  in  the 
garden,  until  the  sun  began  to  sink  in  the  west. 
Now  they  sat  on  the  piazza,  and  were  fanning 
themselves  with  their  white-cape  bonnets,  after 
a  race  up  the  broad  walk. 

'^/think  Sunday  is  very  pleasant,*^  said  Carrie, 
w^ho  was  older  than  either  o^  the  others,  and 
quieter^,  too.  "I  like  to  f;j  to  church  in  the 
morning  always.  In  the  afternoon  we  never  go 
out.  The  walk  is  too  long,  and  we  have  the 
nicest  little  Bible  lessons.    Don't  we,  Fannie  ?" 

^'Yes,"  said  Fannie,  ''in  mamma's  room. 
She  teaches  us,  and  we  sit  with  her  an  hour  and 
a  half." 

"After  that,  we  are  let  walk  in  the  garden," 
continued  her  sister.  "  That  is  if  we  have  been 
attentive  to  mamma.  We  go  quietly  about,  but 
we  never  run  or  race  on  Sunday.  Sometimes 
papa  walks  with  us.  We  like  that,  because  he 
tells  us  such  beautiful  things  about  God's  caring 


CHRIST,  THE  REDEEMER.  9 

for  the  birds  and  the  lilies.  Why,  /  think  Sun- 
day is  lovely 

Well,"  said  Dora,  a  little  obstinate  in  her 
tone,  I  can't  think  how  Sunday  could  be  any- 
thing but  tiresome.  At  home,  we  have  such  a 
dull  breakfast.  Then  we  children  are  paraded 
to  church ;  and  have  to  sit  as  still  as  mice.  If 
we  whisper  once,  we  have  an  ever  so  long  Bible 
lesson  to  learn  for  a  punishment.  Then  comes 
Sunday-school,  with  cross  Miss  Dayton  for  my 
teacher.  After  that,  church  again  —  when  I 'm 
so  tired,  I  feel  as  if  my  neck  was  breaking  off. 
If  it 's  a  rainy  day,  or  we  can't  go  out,  we  have 
such  dull  books  to  read  — sermons  I  can't  un- 
derstand. Julia  reads  them  out  loud.  Or  there 
are  hymns  to  learn,  and  then  comes  prayers.  I 
always  wake  up  Monday  morning,  and  feel  so 
glad  that  it 's  all  over  with  for  a  whole  week." 

Fannie  looked  very  much  troubled,  and  so 
did  Carrie ;  but  they  did  not  know  how  to  an- 
swer their  cousin,  without  seeming  rude. 

"Let's  go  into  mamma,  and  ask  her  why 
Sunday  ought  to  be  a  happy  day,"  said  Carrie, 
at  last.    "  I  know  ;  but  she  can  tell  us  better." 

So  the  little  girls  went  into  Mrs.  Elliott's 


.10 


CHRIST,  THE  REDEEMF 


room.  She  did  not  get  up  from  the  easy-chair, 
for  she  was  pale  and  ill,  but  she  smiled,  and 
held  out  her  hands  to  them. 

'^Dora  thinks  Sunday  is  a  tiresome  day, 
mamma,  and  I  want  you  to  tell  her  why  we 
ought  to  love  it." 

"  Because,  my  daughter,  '  God  blessed  and 
hallowed  it'  at  the  creation  of  the  world.  He 
appointed  it  a  day  of  rest  for  all  creatures.  We 
should  give  at  least  one  day  in  seven  to  the  ser- 
vice of  so  kind  a  friend  and  father.  And  then, 
you  will  remember  that  Christ  our  Redeemer 
rose  from  the  dead  the  first  day  of  the  week— 
the  Christian  Sabbath.  We  must  try  to  remem- 
ber this,  if  we  wish  it  to  be  .a  pleasant  day. 
Why  do  you  think  it  tiresome,  Dora?" 

"  Because  we  can't  play,  or  do  anything,  aunt 
Margaret,  and  I  think  good  books  are  tiresome." 

"Even  the  Bible  will  seem  tiresome,  if  it  is 
not  read  properly.  Do  you  understand  what 
you  read  ?" 

"No,  aunt,  I  don't  think  I  do.  Perhaps  that 
is  one  reason  why  it  is  so  dull.  Mrs.  Newton 
has  no  time  to  explain  it  to  us.  I  wish  I  had 
a  mamma,  instead  of  a  governess." 


CHRIST,  THE  REDEEMER^ 


11 


Mrs.  Elliott  looked  sad.  Dora's  mamma  had 
been  her  favourite  sister.  She  died  when  Dora 
was  still  a  baby. 

"  Mrs.  Newton  is  very  kind  to  you,  no  doubt. 
But  I  will  be  your  mamma  while  you  pay  us 
this  long  visit,  Dora.  We  will  see  if  we  cannot 
help  you  to  love  Sunday,  and  the  Bible,  too. 
Carrie,  my  dear,  will  you  hand  me  that  port- 
folio from  my  dressing-table  ?" 

You  may  be  sure  they  were  very  anxious  to 
see  what  this  pretty  new  portfolio  contained.  A 
set  of  beautiful  pictures  they  thought,  from  one 
glance,  as  Mrs.  Elliott  opened  it.  She  selected 
one,  and  said,  "  These  pictures  illustrate  some 
of  the  scenes  in  our  Saviour's  life.  Suppose^ 
instead  of  our  Bible  lesson  on  Sunday  afternoon, 
we  take  one  of  these  pictures,  and  find  out  all 
we  can  about  it.  That  will  teach  and  interest 
us  at  the  same  time." 

Carrie  thought  it  would  be  excellent.  So  did 
Fannie  ;  but  Dora  said  nothing. 

Then  Mrs.  Elliott  gave  them  the  picture  she 
had  selected.  It  was  the  head  of  our  Saviour, 
which  you  will  find  on  the  first  page  of  this 
book.    The  eyes  were  sad  and  mournful,  and 


12  CHRIST,  THE  REDEEMER. 


the  children  looked  at  it  a  long  time  without 
speaking.    Then  Carrie  said — 

"  Does  it  not  look  as  if  he  was  sorry  for  this 
wicked  world,  mamma?" 

But  is  it  really  a  portrait  of  our  Saviour  ? 
like  yours  that  hangs  in  the  parlour?"  asked 
Fannie. 

"No,  my  dear;  we  have  no  authentic  or  real 
portrait,  believed  to  be  so  by  any  one,  although 
many  claim  to  be.  Many  different  painters  have 
imagined  the  face  of  our  Master,  and  have 
painted  it  as  they  thought  he  would  appear. 
You  remember  the  picture  that  hangs  in  your 
uncle's  parlour  in  Boston,  of  the  little  girl  lead- 
ing her  blind  father  ?  Now,  I  do  not  suppose 
either  of  those  people  ever  lived ;  but  the  artist 
had  imagined  how^  they  might  have  looked. 

"How  imagined^  aunt?"  asked  Dora. 

"  Well,  my  dear,  to  make  it  plainer.  Before 
they  brought  the  picture  of  your  own  mamma 
home  to  Boston,  while  your  papa  had  it  with 
him  abroad,  did  you  not  sometimes  w^onder 
how  she  had  looked  ?" 

"  Oh,  very  often  ;  and  it  w^as  so  strange  that 
I  thought  almost  right,  too.    Only  my  mamma 


CHRIST,  THE  REDEEMER. 


13 


that  I  dreamed  about  had  blue  eyes,  and  my 
real  mamma's  eyes  were  hazel." 

"Then  what  you  call  dreaming,  was,  in 
reality,  imagining.  So,  as  the  painter  imagined 
the  little  girl  and  her  blind  father,  and  you  the 
face  of  your  dead  mother,  the  artist  who  drew 
these  pictures  has  imagined  Christ.  None  of 
them  are  real  portraits ;  but  they  illustrate,  or 
explain,  real  scenes.  It  is  as  if  some  one  should 
know  that  three  little  girls  w^re  at  play  in  a  nice 
arbour,  as  you  have  been  doing,  and  should 
paint  a  picture  of  you,  without  having  seen  your 
faces.  The  scene  would  be  similar  to  that  from 
the  window,  and  the  little  girls  would  look  just 
about  as  you  have  looked,  while  I  sat  here 
watching  you,  though  the  faces  might  not  be  the 
same.    Do  you  understand  any  better,  now  ?" 

"  Oh,  very  much  better,"  said  they  all ;  and 
shall  we  commence  to-morrow?"  asked  Carrie. 

"  Yes,  the  very  next  afternoon,"  Mrs.  Elliott 
said ;  and  then,  as  she  kissed  them  all,  w^hen 
cousin  Jane  came  to  put  them  to  bed,  she  bade 
them  not  forget  to  place  themselves  under  the 
protection  of  Heaven,  before  they  slept. 


THE  SECOND  PICTURE. 


CHRIST  BLESSING  LITTLE  CHILDREN. 

Dora  did  not  find  the  morning  as  dull  as  she 
had  expected.  All  the  family  but  Mrs.  Elliott 
and  one  servant  went  to  church.  As  Oatlands 
was  not  in  the  village,  it  was  quite  a  long  walk ; 
but  Mr.  Elliott  never  allowed  the  carriage  to  be 
used  unless  it  was  stormy.  They  came  home 
through  the  fields,  and  saw  the  wood  \dolets 
growing  by  a  little  brook.  They  were  in  beau- 
tiful clusters  of  purple  and  white,  half  hidden 
under  broad  green  leaves.  The  birds  were 
singing  in  the  warm  sunshine,  and  the  wind 
blew  soft  and  cool.  There  were  no  sounds  to 
break  the  quiet  of  the  day,  and  Dora  thought 
she  had  never  enjoyed  a  walk  more. 

(14) 


CHRIST  BLESSING  LITTLE  CHILDREN.  15 

The  children  talked  about  tihe  portfolio  as 
they  walked  home.  They  wondered  if  it  would 
be  as  interesting  as  they  expected.  Carrie  said, 
"  Mamma  always  made  anything  interesting 
and  Fannie  thought  it  wa^  very  good  in  their 
papa  to  bring  home  the  pictures  from  Boston. 

After  dinner,  which  was  very  plain,  they  went 
into  Mrs.  Elliott's  room.  She  was  much  better 
than  usual,  and  her  chair  was  drawn  up  close 
to  the  window.  The  portfolio  was  lying  upon 
her  knee,  and  she  was  waiting  for  them. 

I  think  it  will  be  a  very  good  plan,"  said 
she,  "  to  give  you  a  picture  by  turns,  to  find 
out  all  you  can  about  the  story.  I  will  tell  you 
the  subject  without  showing  it  to  you,  and  then 
you  can  think  about  it  through  the  week.  How 
would  you  like  this  ?" 

"  Oh,  very  much,"  said  the  Httle  girls. 

"Well,  then,  as  we  have  not  had  time  to 
prepare  anything  for  to-day,  I  will  trust  to  what 
you  have  already  learned.  Carrie,  as  you  are 
the  eldest,  and  have  read  the  most,  we  will 
begin  with  you.  Here  is  a  picture  of  Christ 
blessing  little  children.  It  does  not  come  first 
in  the  order  of  our  Saviour's  life,  but  I  thought 


4 


16       CHRIST  BLESSING  LITTLE  CHILDREN. 


it  would  be  very  appropriate  to  begin  with. 
What  do  you  remember  about  it?" 

"  The  mothers  brought  the  httle  children — " 
began  Carrie,  with  some  hesitation,  for  she  was 
very  shy. 

"Brought  them  to  whom,  my  dear?' 
"  To  our  Saviour,  when  he  was  on  the  earth." 
"  And  why  did  they  bring  them  ?" 
"That  he  might  bless  them;  was  it  not, 
mamma  ?" 

"And  did  our  Saviour's  disciples  smile  upon 
the  children,  and  place  them  in  his  arms  ?" 

"  The  Bible  does  not  say  so.  The  disciples 
did  not  like  it,  did  they,  mamma?" 

"And  why  should  they  be  displeased,  do 
you  think? — Can  you  tell,  Fannie  ?" 

"I  suppose  they  were  afraid  it  would  trouble 
him,  when  he  had  so  many  things  to  think 
about." 

"  Well,  that  may  ha^^e  been  the  cause.  Now, 
what  did  the  Saviour  do,  Carrie?" 

"  He  was  very  much  displeased  at  his  disci- 
ples, and  he  took  the  httle  children  from  their 
mothers,  and  blessed  them  kindly." 

"  There  is  a  pretty  text  that  you  learned 


CHRIST  BLESSING  LITTLE  CHILDREN.  17 

about  that.  Can  you  remember  it?"  said  Mrs. 
Elliott. 

Suffer  Utile  children  to  come  unto  me,  and 
forbid  them  not ^  for  of  such  is  the  kingdom  of 
God,'^''  The  little  girls  repeated  this  together, 
slowly  and  distinctly,  as  you  should  always  re- 
peat Scripture.  There  is  nothing  more  painful 
than  to  hear  little  boys  and  girls  hurry  over 
their  Bible  lessons  in  a  thoughtless,  irreverent 
manner. 

Then  they  all  looked  at  the  picture  which 
Mrs.  Elliott  gave  them.  There  were  the  little 
children  kneeling  before  our  Saviour,  and  look- 
ing up  into  his  face,  as  if  they  loved  him.  One 
little  thing  who  could  just  walk  seemed  spring- 
ing from  his  mother's  arms.  There  were  the 
mothers  themselves,  looking  solemn  and  thought- 
ful. They  knew,  if  the  children  did  not,  how 
great  a  blessing  they  had  gained.  And  the 
disciples  could  be  seen,  *  looking  ashamed  at 
having  done  anything  which  displeased  their 
Master,  who  stood  in  the  midst  of  the  group. 
His  hands  were  raised  above  the  little  jfigures 
that  knelt  before  him,  and  there  was  a  sweet 
smile  on  his  face. 

1$ 


IS       CHRIST  BLESSING  LITTLE  CHILDREN. 

The  children  thought  they  should  never  be 
tired  with  looking  at  it. 

Oh,  how  I  wish  Christ  was  on  the  earth 
now,"  said  Fannie  very  earnestly,  after  a  little 
while. 

Why,  Fannie  ?"  asKed  Dora,  softly. 
^'Because  perhaps  he  would  bless  us,  too, 
and  then  we  should  never  do  wrong  again,  and 
should  be  sure  of  2:oino:  to  heaven." 

Never  do  wrong,  Fannie  ?"  said  her  mam- 
ma, smiling  kindly.  "  I  am  afraid  that  could 
not  be,  as  long  as  we  ai'e  left  in  the  midst  of  so 
much  temptation.  But  Christ's  blessing  does 
indeed  prepare  us  for  heaven.  And  that  bless- 
ing he  w^ill  give  us  now^  as  freely  as  w^hen  he 
walked  upon  the  earth.  All  of  you  may  kneel 
before  him  daily,  if  you  wish  it,  and  he  will  see 
you  as  plainly  as  if  he  was  standing  in  tlie  room. 
He  can  read  every  thought  of  your  hearts,  and 
has  the  power  to  grant  all  your  wishes.  And 
as  those  mothers  brought  their  children  to  Christ, 
so  I  would  bring  mine.  It  is  my  fervent  w^sh 
that  the  blessing  you  need  so  much  may  be 
given  to  you.  You  must  choose  for  yourselves 
whether  you  vriW  receive  it." 


CHRIST  BLESSING  LITTLE  CHILDREN.  19 

Mrs.  Elliott  spoke  very  gravely,  and  even 
Dora  was  attentive.  They  talked  much  longer 
about  the  picture,  so  that  it  was  almost  dark 
when  the  portfolio  was  put  up  again.  Dora 
thought  she  liked  Bible  lessons,  on  the  whole, 
if  this  was  one ;  though  it  did  not  seem  like  a 
lesson  at  all.  She  wondered  why  Miss  Dayton 
could  not  teach  them  so,  for  she  was  sure  she 
should  always  remember  about  Christ  blessing 
little  children. 


THE  THIRD  PICTURE. 


THE  MOTHER  OF  OUR  SAVIOUR. 

The  last  Bible  lesson  formed  the  subject  of 
many  a  long  talk  the  next  week.  Dora  thought 
it  was  best  to  begin  at  the  very  commencement 
of  our  Saviour's  life.  "  What  did  he  have  to 
come  into  the  world  for  at  all  to  save  us  ?"  said 
she. 

"  Well,  because  we  never  should  have  gone 
to  heaven  —  any  one  m  the  world,  I  mean," 
answered  Carrie. 

"  But  how  did  we  all  get  so  naughty?  I 'm 
sure  I  don't  think  I  ever  did  anything  very  bad, 
quite  of  my  own  accord." 

"  Wouldn't  it  have  been  charming,  Carrie, 
if  everybody  had  been  made  here  in  the  world 

(20) 


THE  MOTHER  OF  OUR  SAVIOUR.  21 


as  good  as  they  are  in  heaven  ?"  Fannie  looked 
as  if  she  thought  this  would  have  been  much 
better. 

"  God  thought  it  was  not  best,  I  suppose," 
answered  her  sister.  "Let  us  remember  all 
these  things,  and  ask  mamma  about  them  next 
Sunday." 

So  then  the  little  girls  would  run  off  to  their 
hoops  and  dolls  again,  until  something  else 
called  up  their  Bible  lesson  to  recollection. 

It  was  very  pleasant  at  Oatlands.  The  house 
was  large  and  beautiful.  It  stood  on  a  gently- 
sloping  hill,  and  the  lawn  was  bounded  by  a 
beautiful  stream  of  clear  water.  The  flower 
garden  opened  from  the  parlour  windows.  Then 
there  was  the  poultry  yard,  Fannie's  especial 
charge,  where  she  went  every  morning,  with 
"  Cousin  Jane,"  to  feed  the  chickens.  Cousin 
Jane  had  lived  with  them  a  great  many  years. 
She  took  care  of  the  house,  now  that  Mrs.  El- 
liott was  ill,  and  attended  to  the  wardrobes  of 
the  Httle  girls.  She  was  kind  and  gentle,  but 
very  pale,  and  very  quiet.  Fannie  seemed  to 
be  her  favourite,  although  she  was  very  good 
to  them  all. 


22  THE  MOTHER  OF  OUR  SAVIOUR. 

But  I  was  telling  you  about  the  house.  Mrs. 
Elliott's  own  room  was  directly  over  tlie  par- 
lour, and  it  opened  upon  an  upper  piazza. 
Vshen  the  weatlier  was  fine,  she  could  some- 
times be  wheeled  out  here,  and  watch  the  little 
girls  at  their  play.  She  was  not  so  ill  as  to  be 
in  bed  much  of  the  time,  or  to  be  idle  when 
sitting  up.  She  read  and  sewed,  and  could 
knit,  too,  although  she  could  not  walk  across 
the  room. 

There  was  a  stand  of  beautiful  hot-house 
plants  on  this  piazza.  Cousin  Jane  took  care 
of  them  now;  and  a  bird  Dora  had  brought 
from  Boston  hung  in  its  pretty  cage  near  Mrs. 
ElUott's  window. 

IMr.  Elliott  rode  to  town  every  morning  after 
breakfast,  and  did  not  return  until  night-fall. 
The  children  had  a  play  hour,  as  they  called  it, 
until  ten.  Then  they  came  in,  and  after  brush- 
ing their  hair  neatly,  and  putting  on  clean 
aprons,  they  came  to  Mrs.  Elhott's  room.  H.^re 
the  lessons  of  the  day  before  were  reviev^c-d5 
and  new  ones  given  out.  Their  lessons  were 
not  very  difficult.  Dora  had  a  little  book,  called 

Simple  Facts,"  which  they  liked  very  much. 


THE  MOTHER  OF  OUR  SAVIOUR.  23 

It  told  them  how  sugar  was  made ;  about  the 
use  of  cotton,  and  hemp,  and  a  great  many 
other  interesting  things.  There  was  a  Httle 
verse  at  the  end  of  every  chapter.  The  children 
liked  this  best  of  all  their  lessons,  it  was  written 
in  such  an  easy,  simple  style.  Geography 
Carrie  liked  very  much,  but  Fannie  could  not 
bear  "map  lessons."  They  were  learning  the 
multiplication  table,  and  had  commenced  read- 
ing a  little  book  called  "  Outlines  of  American 
History." 

Mrs.  Elliott  did  not  wish  to  have  the  children 
study  too  much ;  but  still  she  did  not  think  it 
best  for  them  to  play  all  the  while.  Their  les- 
sons never  lasted  but  two  hours,  though  they 
were  usually  very  diligent  all  this  time.  After 
^  dinner  they  sewed  an  hour,  while  Cousin  Jane 
read  aloud  to  their  mamma.  Sometimes  they 
could  understand  these  large  books  very  well, 
and  it  was  quite  interesting.  At  other  times 
the  sewing  hour  was  very  dull. 

Carrie  sewed  more  neatly  than  any  of  them, 
and  was  now  heming  a  set  of  handkerchiefs 
for  her  papa.  Dora  did  not  like  sewing  at  all. 
She  had  never  been  accustomed  to  it  before  she 


24  THE  MOTHER  OF  OUR  SAVIOUR. 


came  to  Oatlands.  She  broke  the  thread,  and 
bent  her  needle,  and  gave  Carrie  a  great  deal  of 
trouble.  And  then  she  was  famous  for  knots ! 
She  never  could  get  them  out  herself.  I  won- 
der how  it  happens,  that  idle  little  girls  find 
their  thread  knot  more  easily  than  those  who 
are  industrious. 

But  I  must  hurry  on  to  our  next  picture.  I 
have  only  told  you  these  things  that  you  might 
feel  better  acquainted  with  our  little  friends,  so 
that  you  would  be  more  interested  to  read  about 
them.  Mrs.  Elliott  had  one  son.  He  w^as  older 
than  either  of  the  girls,  and  had  been  sent  away 
to  school,  after  his  mother  became  ill.  His  sis- 
ters were  very  fond  of  him,  and  they  had  a  great 
deal  to  say  about  the  time  when  he  should  come 
home  for  the  holidays.  This  would  be  before 
long,  and  a  little  schoolfellow^  was  to  come  with 
him.  They  wondered  very  often  if  Lewis  would 
be  much  grown,  and  what  kind  of  a  boy  Henry 
Lord  would  prove  to  be. 

"A  w^eek  from  to-day  they  will  be  here," 
said  Carrie,  on  Saturday  night,  after  they  had 
come  from  a  fresh  nice  bath,  and  were  taking 
their  clean  clothes  out  of  the  drawer,  to  be 
ready  on  Sunday  morning. 


THE  MOTHER  OF  OUR  SAVIOUR.  25 


"  That  puts  me  in  mind  of  something,"  said 
Dora.  "  What  was  the  subject  aunt  gave  you 
to  read  about  this  week?" 

She  did  not  give  me  any  at  all.  We  are 
to  wait  for  that  until  the  boys  come ;  then  we 
shall  go  on  regularly.  Mamma  will  teach  us 
to-morrow  herself." 

The  picture  proved  to  be,  the  mother  of  our 
Lord  Hstening  to  the  angel  who  had  come  to 
tell  her  that  she  had  been  chosen  to  the  great 
honour  of  being  the  mother  of  the  Saviour  of 
the  world.  It  was  a  very  pretty  scene.  The 
beautiful  young  woman,  kneeling  in  surprise 
and  astonishment  at  such  a  strange  visitor. 
Her  head  was  bent  low,  and  her  long  white 
veil  hung  about  her  shoulders.  Her  hands 
were  clasped,  and  though  the  attitude  was  not 
one  of  worship,  it  displayed  reverence,  humility, 
and  gentleness. 

''But,  mamma,  angels  never  d6  really  come 
to  the  earth,  do  they?"  asked  Fannie,  after  they 
had  all  looked  at  it. 

"  Not  now,  my  love,  or  at  least  we  never  see 
them.,  if  they  do.  But  we  often  read  about  their 
visiting  the  people  of  the  Old  Testament.  Do 


26 


THE  MOTHER  OF  OUR  SAVIOUR. 


you  remember  any  place  that  you  have  read, 
or  heard  me  read  ?" 

Did  not  one  come  to  Hagar  in  the  desert, 
mamma  ?" 

''What  is  that?"  asked  Dora;  "I  do  not 
remember  it." 

''Not  remember  about  Hagar?  Oh,  it's 
such  a  lovely  story!"  said  Fannie. 

"Yes,  about  her  going  out  into  a  desert 
where  there  wasn't  any  water,  and  after  they 
had  gone  about  ever  so  long — " 

"  She  had  her  little  son  with  her — don't  for- 
get that,  Carrie — " 

"  No.  Her  son  was  named  Ishmael,  (I  don't 
think  that 's  pretty,)  and  she  had  quarrelled  with 
her  mistress  about  him.  Well,  the  little  boy 
was  dying  with  thirst — " 

"  Only  think — how  dreadful,  Dora — " 

"And  she  could  not  bear  to  see  him  die. 
So  she  laid  him  under  a  tree — wasn't  it,  mam- 
ma ?  and  went  away  and  covered  up  her  face. 
And  then  an  angel  called  to  her  out  of  heaven, 
and  told  her  that  she  must  not  give  up  so  ;  and 
after  all  there  was  water  very  near — a  spring. 
She  gave  it  to  her  son,  and  he  got  better,  and 
lived  to  be  a  gi'eat  man." 


THE  MOTHER  OF  OUR  SAVIOUR.  27 

Oh,  I 'm  SO  glad  he  didn't  die,"  said  Dora, 
who  had  been  very  much  interested. 

Then  there  were  the  angels  who  came  and 
told  Lot  that  Sodom  would  be  destroyed,"  said 
Mrs.  Elliott. 

And  when  Daniel  was  in  the  lion's  den, 
did  not  some  angels  come  and  keep  them  from 
hurting  him,  Carrie  ?" 

"  Yes,  I  remember  that ;  and  about  Balaam 
— something  about  Balaam,  mamma." 

That  was  when  he  went  to  curse  the  child- 
ren of  Israel,  and  his  curses  were  turned  to 
blessings.  I  am  glad  to  see  that  you  remember 
so  much  about  the  Old  Testament,  my  dear. 
There  are  many  other  examples,  but  these  will 
do  for  the  present.  We  shall  find  out  more 
about  them  in  our  next  lesson." 

"Oh,  now  we  can  ask  mamma  how  it  was 
that  our  Saviour  had  to  come  into  the  world  at 
all.  Was  not  that  what  you  wanted  to  know, 
Dora?" 

'^I  said,  aunt  Margaret,  that  I  did  not  see 
why  it  w^as,  that  w^e  were  all  so  wicked,  that 
anybody  had  to  die  for  us  before  we  could  go 
to  heaven.    It's  that  I  find  so  much  in  the 


28  THE  MOTHER  OF  OUR  SAVIOUR. 


Bible  which  I  can't  understand.  When  I  can't 
understand  things  I  always  get  stupid,  and  I 
don't  like  to  read  when  I  feel  so." 

You  are  not  yet  old  enough  to  understand 
fully  this  ^  mystery  of  sin.'  But  suppose  your 
uncle  had  killed  some  one,  and  w^as  to  be  exe- 
cuted. The  judge  might  say,  if  there  was  any 
one  to  die  in  his  place,  he  could  go  free.  Do 
you  see  that  it  would  be  necessary  to  find  some 
one  else,  or  he  would  be  punished  ?" 
"Yes,  I  see  that." 

"Well,  all  w^ho  live  upon  the  earth  have 
sinned  against  the  law  of  the  great  Judge  of  the 
universe.  The  sentence  was  the  death  of  the 
soul.  But  he  was  very  kind,  and  sent  his  only 
Son,  to  die  for  us,  that  is,  in  our  place.  Now, 
who  was  the  Son  of  God  ?" 

"  Our  Saviour." 

"  And  do  you  understand  it  any  better  now  ?" 

"A  little  better,  I  think — and  the  angel  was 
sent  to  tell  that  he  was  going  to  come  into  the 
world,  right  among  all  the  wicked  people — w^as 
that  it?" 

"Yes,  he  came  to  Mary,  a  gentle  Jewish 
woman,  and  told  her  that  she  was  to  be  more 


THE  MOTHER  OF  OUR  SAVIOUR.  29 

honoured  than  any  one  who  had  ever  lived  be- 
fore ;  because  the  infancy,  and  the  childhood 
of  the  Son  of  God,  was  trusted  to  her  care. 
He  was  to  be  given,  a  little  helpless  babe,  into 
her  arms,  that  she  might  watch  over  him." 

"  I  think  she  ought  to  have  been  very  glad," 
said  Fannie. 

"  Some  think  that  because  she  was  the  mo- 
ther of  our  Lord,  we  are  to  worship  her ;  but 
none  but  God  himself  is  to  be  worshipped," 
continued  Mrs.  Elliott.  "  She  was  a  pure  and 
lovely  woman,  I  have  no  doubt ;  but  now  that 
she  is  in  heaven,  she  cannot  grant  us  anything 
herself    Our  Saviour  has  said, 

" '  Whosoever  shall  do  the  will  of  my  Father 
which  is  in  heaven,  the  same  is  my  brother,  and 
sister,  and  mother,'' 

And  now,  as  I  do  not  feel  very  well  this 
afternoon,  we  will  put  up  the  portfolio,  and  you 
may  learn  that  text,  and  say  it  to  each  other. 
Try  to  think  what  a  blessed  thing  it  would  be 
to  be  called  the  sister  of  our  Redeemer." 


THE  FOURTH  PICTURE. 


THE  ANGEL  AND  THE  SHEPHERDS. 

There  was  a  great  deal  of  preparation  for  the 
boys.  They  were  to  have  a  large,  nice  room, 
which  was  made  as  neat  as  possible.  All  the 
books  which  Lewis  used  to  like,  were  collected 
here.  There  was  a  little  table  by  the  window, 
where  his  paint-box  and  pencils  were  placed ; 
for  Lewis  was  very  fond  of  drawing,  and  had 
already  made  great  progress  in  the  study.  His 
sisters  had  some  sketches  of  his,  which  they  pre- 
served with  great  care ;  and  these  were  taken  * 
out  and  shown  to  Dora,  who  admired  them  very 
much. 

(30) 


THE  ANGEL  AND  THE  SHEPHERDS.  31 

"  It  seems  a  great  while  till  Saturday — doesn't 
it,  Dora  ?"  said  Fannie,  as  she  stood  there  with 
the  sketches  in  her  hand. 

"Thursday,  Friday,  Saturday  —  three  whole 
days ;  because  it  will  be  night  before  they  get 
here.   But  I  don't  remember  Lewis  very  well." 

"I  suppose  you  don't  care  as  much  as  we 
do;  but  then  there's  Henry  Lord — we  never 
saw  him.  Lewis  is  ten  years  old,  and  Henry 
is  eleven.    I 'm  afraid  he  wdll  be  rough." 

"  It 's  almost  time  for  papa  to  come,"  called 
out  Carrie,  from  the  stairs.  "  Come,  girls,  and 
let  us  get  on  our  clean  aprons." 

"  Yes,  there 's  the  carriage  now,"  said  Dora; 
"  I  see  it  through  the  trees.  But  uncle  is  not 
alone  in  it.  Dear  me,  what  a  great  pile  of 
trunks  are  behind  —  only  look,  Carrie!" 

That 's  Lewis,  now,  looking  out  of  the  w^in- 
dow.  Oh,  mamma,  Lewis  has  come !"  shouted 
Fannie. 

True  enough ;  there  w^as  Lewis  himself,  so 
impatient  that  he  could  scarcely  wait  for  the 
carriage  to  stop.  Mrs.  Elliott  turned  very  pale, 
for  she  had  not  expected  him,  and  the  surprise 
startled  her.    The  next  moment  her  son  w^as 


32        THE  ANGEL  AND  THE  SHEPHERDS. 

bounding  up  stairs,  and  then  he  threw  both 
arms  about  her  neck,  and  kissed  her  heartily. 

There  —  there,  Lewis,  that  will  do;  you 
will  smother  your  mamma,"  said  Mr.  Elliott, 
laughingly.  And  here  is  your  visiter  waiting 
to  be  introduced  to  her.  Your  sisters  are  here, 
too,  and  this  is  your  cousin  Dora." 

Why,  little  Dora,  how  you  have  grown ! 
And  this  is  Henry  Lord,  mamma,  my  room- 
mate, and  a  capital  fellow." 

The  visiter  proved  to  be  a  very  pleasant-look- 
ing lad,  with  bright  clear  blue  eyes,  that  said  a 
great  deal,  though  he  himself  was  quiet  and  re- 
served. The  children  were  a  little  shy  at  first, 
but  after  a  while  they  grew  better  friends. 

There 's  the  bell  for  prayers,"  said  Carrie, 
as  they  all  stood  on  the  piazza,  watching  the 
sunset. 

Yes ;  and  that  puts  me  in  mind  of  our  Bible 
lessons.  Oh,  Lewis,  we  have  such  nice  times 
in  mamma's  room  every  Sunday  afternoon,  and 
now  it  will  be  so  much  better,  because  you  have 
come.  Do  you  like  such  things  ?"  and  Fannie 
turned  to  their  young  guest  as  she  spoke. 
"  I  do  not  exactly  know  what  you  mean  by 


THE  ANGEX.  AND  THE  SHEPHERDS.  33 

such  things but  if  you  enjoy  them,  I  suppose 
we  shall,"  was  the  answer. 

Well,  you  will  see  on  Sunday ;  for  I  know 
mamma  gave  Carrie  the  subject  of  the  picture, 
(we  have  pictures  to  explain,)  although  we  do 
not  know  what  it  is.  And  Carrie  is  to  find  out 
all  she  can  about  it,  and  then  tell  us." 

Sunday  proved  to  be  a  rainy  day,  and  only 
the  boys  went  to  church.  Carrie  was  busy  all 
the  morning  reading  the  Old  Testament,  while 
Dora  and  Fannie  learned  a  beautiful  little  poem 
from  a  book  Lewis  had  brought,  called  The 
Child's  Christian  Year."  This  they  were  to 
repeat  after  the  lesson. 

The  boys  were  very  glad  to  rest,  after  their 
long  muddy  w^alk,  and  they  all  gathered  in  Mrs. 
Elliott's  room.  It  was  a  very  pretty  picture. 
''Aunt  Margaret,"  as  Dora  called  her,  with  the 
large  portfolio  open  upon  the  table.  The  two 
boys  in  the  window-seat  near  her,  and  the  little 
girls  in  their  own  low  chairs,  just  as  they  always 
sat  at  lessons.  The  rain  came  driving  against 
the  windows  every  now  and  then.  The  wind 
bent  the  trees  in  the  garden  ;  but  it  was  all  the 
pleasanter  to  sit  there  so  secure  from  the  gtorm? 
P 


34        THE  ANGEL  AND  THE  SHEPHERDS. 

and  so  comfortable.  Cousin  Jane  came  into 
the  Bible  lesson  this  afternoon,  and  Mr.  Elliott 
had  gone  back  to  church  again. 

The  picture/'  said  Mrs.  Elliott,  at  the  same 
time  handing  it  to  Carrie,  ''is  the  scene  on  the 
plains  of  Bethlehem,  when  the  angels  announced 
the  birth  of  our  Lord  to  the  shepherds." 

Oh,  there  is  another  time  that  angels  ap- 
peared! We  did  not  think  of  that,"  exclaimed 
Fannie. 

So  they  all  looked  at  the  picture,  and  saw  the 
sheep  scattered  about  upon  the  grass.  There 
were  the  shepherds,  too,  their  faces  full  of 
astonishment,  and  the  angel  in  his  bright  and 
shining  garments. 

''  I  found  the  story  in  the  second  chapter  of 
Luke,"  said  Carrie.  ''  Our  Saviour  was  born 
in  Bethlehem,  a  little  town  in  a  country  called 
Judea.  I  found  it  on  the  great  map  of  the  Holy 
Land,  in  papa's  Scripture  Geography.  There 
were  some  shepherds  watching  their  flocks  in 
the  neighbourhood.  It  was  in  the  middle  of 
the  night.  All  at  once,  there  was  a  great  light 
in  the  sky." 

'*How  frightened  they  must  have  been,"  said 
Dora. 


THE  ANGEL  AND  THE  SHEPHERDS.  35 


"I  think  the  Bible  says  Hhey  were  sore  afraid'^ 
— does  it  not,  Carrie  ?" 

"Yes,  mamma,  those  are  the  very  words." 
.  "  Well, — and  what  happened  them  ?" 

"Why,  the  angel  spoke  to  them,  and  said 
they  must  not  feel  so.  I  learned  the  verses  just 
as  they  were. 

'"Fear  not;  for  behold  I  bring  you  good 
tidings  of  great  joy,  which  shall  be  unto  all 
people, 

"  '  For  unto  you  is  born  this  day,  in  the  city  of 
David,  a  Saviour,  which  is  Christ  the  Lord,''  " 

"  W^as  that  all  the  angel  said  ?" 

"  No ;  he  told  them  where  they  would  find 
the  babe.  In  a  manger— such  a  strange  place, 
I  think." 

"  Oh,  I  remember  about  that,"  said  Fannie. 
"  The  houses  were  so  full,  that  there  was  no 
room  for  them;  so  they  staid  in  a  stable. 
That's  what  the  hymn  says,  'Where  the  horned 
oxen  fed.'  " 

"  Then,  to  go  on,  mamma.  All  at  once,  while 
this  angel  spoke,  there  was  a  great  many  more 
angels  together  in  the  sky.  l^hey  sang  a  beau- 
tiful song,  and  said — 


36        THE  ANGEL  AND  THE  SHEPHERDS. 


'Glory  to  God  in  the  highest^  and  on  earth 
peace ^  good-will  towards  men.'^  " 

"They  sing  that  at  our  church,  on  Christ- 
mas," said  Dora. 

"  But  I  think  it  must  have  sounded  more 
beautiful  there,"  said  Henry,  almost  blushing 
to  find  himself  speaking.  "  Only  think  of  the 
music  floating  up  through  the  clouds,  and  the 
night  so  still,  and  the  angels  with  such  sweet 
voices." 

Mrs.  Elliott  smiled  a  little,  when  she  said, 
"You  are  right,  Henry — it  can  never  sound  so 
again.  It  was  a  heavenly  message  from  the 
Creator  of  the  world,  to  all  those  who  were  then 
living,  or  ever  should  dwell  upon  it.  A  token 
that  a  Redeemer  had  been  sent  among  us.  He 
came  in  the  form  of  a  gentle  infant,  that  slept 
in  his  mother's  arms,  as  Lewis  has  done  in  mine. 
'Glory  to  God  in  the  highest for  it  was  to  His 
goodness  and  mercy  that  we  owed  all  this.  '  On 
earth  peace peace  from  the  war  of  sin,  and 
'good-will  towards  man,^  What  greater  good- 
will could  there  be?  For  God  so  loved  the 
world,  that  he  sent  his  only  Son  to  us.  The 
message  was  full  of  comfort  to  all  mankind." 


THE  ANGEL  AND  THE  SHEPHERDS.  37 

^^But  how  came  the  shepherds  to  be  on{  lying 
on  the  ground  in  the  middle  of  the  night  asked 
Dora,  who  had  been  looking  at  the  picture,  in- 
stead of  listening  to  her  aunt. 

^'Can  you  tell  your  cousin,  Lewis?"  asked 
Mrs.  Elliott.  ^'Who  were  shepherds,  in  old 
times?" 

"  Why,  almost  every  one,  in  old  times,  used 
to  be,  or  a  great  many  people  were.  It  was 
very  honourable  then.  Rich  men  used  to  own 
a  great  many  sheep  — hundreds  and  hundreds, 
I  suppose.  Well,  then,  of  course  some  one 
must  attend  to  them,  Dora.  Sometimes  they 
hired  people  to  do  this ;  but  the  sons  of  these 
rich  men  were  often  shepherds." 

"  Yes.  Joseph's  brothers  were,  and  he  was 
sent  to  see  about  them.  I  read  about  that  this 
morning,"  said  Carrie. 

"And  David  kept  his  father's  sheep  before 
he  killed  Goliah.  Don't  you  remember  that  ?" 
added  Henry. 

"  I  wonder  how  you  can  remember  so  much 
about  the  Bible,"  said  Dora.  For  my  part, 
the  more  Miss  Dayton  read  to  us,  the  less  I 
seemed  to  know  about  it.    Now,  I  don't  recol- 


38        THE  ANGEL  AND  THE  SHEPHERDS. 

lect  anything  about  Joseph,  only  that  his  father 
made  him  a  coat  with  a  great  many  colours." 

"  Do  you  think  you  shall  ever  forget  about 
the  shepherds,  Dora,  or  Hagar?" 

"  Oh,  no,  aunt  Margaret;  I  did  not  just  sit 
down  and  study  that,  you  know." 

Well,  your  cousins  have  always  been  ac- 
customed to  read  the  Bible  as  if  it  were  some- 
thing to  be  talked  about,  instead  of  a  hated 
task.  I  w^ish  them  to  have  a  reverence  for  it  as 
the  word  of  God,  and  an  interest  in  reading  it 
as  the  history  of  his  chosen  people.  Henry's 
excellent  father  has,  no  doubt,  taught  him  the 
same  lesson.  I  have  heard  many  a  fine  sermon 
from  him." 

^'Why,  is  your  father  a  clergyman?"  said 
Dora. 

I  thought  you  girls  knew  that  before  he  came, 
I 'm  sure,"  returned  Lewis,  quickly.  Of  course 
he  is,  and  I 've  attended  his  church." 

But  to  go  back  to  the  picture,"  said  Carrie. 
I  suppose  they  hardly  knew  whether  they  were 
dreaming  or  not — the  shepherds,  I  mean — until 
they  went  to  see  if  what  the  angels  had  said  was 
true." 


THE  ANGEL  AND  THE  SHEPHERDS.  39 


"But  you  did  not* tell  us  exactly  what  they 
said." 

"  Oh,  no  —  I  forgot.    The  next  verse  is — 
"  'And  this  shall  he  a  sign  unto  you.    Ye  shall 
find  the  babe  wrapped  in  swaddling  clothes, 
lying  in  a  manger.'^ 

"  So  they  said  to  each  other  that  they  would 
go  and  look  for  this  little  baby.  And  when 
they  came  to  Bethlehem,  it  was  just  as  the 
angels  had  said.  There  it  was,  and  the  mother, 
too." 

"  And  that  little  child  was  the  Saviour  of  the 
world.  See  how  humbly  he  came,  my  chil- 
dren," said  Mrs.  Elliott;  '^w^hen  he  might  have 
been  born  in  a  palace,  if  he  had  chosen.  It 
was  so  that  the  humblest  of  his  people  might 
feel  that  they  had  a  friend  in  him." 

"  Mrs.  EUiott,  was  he  not  often  called  the 
Shepherd  of  his  flock?"  said  Henry,  as  she 
finished  speaking. 

He  gives  that  title  to  himself,  my  dear.  It 
expresses  a  great  deal.  The  shepherd  watched 
over  his  charge  day  and  night.  He  kept  them 
from  straying  away.  He  found  out  pleasant 
fields  for  them,  and  brooks  where  they  could 
drink." 


40        THE  ANGEL  AND  THE  SHEPHERDS. 

Then  Mrs.  Elliott  took  a'Testament,  and  read 
from  the  tenth  chapter  of  St.  John — 

I  am  the  good  shepherd :  the  good  shepherd 
giveth  his  life  for  his  sheep, 

"  But  he  that  is  an  hirelings  and  not  the  shep- 
herd^ whose  own  the  sheep  are  notj  seeth  the  wolf 
coming,  and  leaveth  the  sheep,  and  Jleeth :  and 
the  wolf  catcheth  them,  and  scatter eth  the  sheep, 

"  The  hireling  Jleeth,  because  he  is  an  hirelings 
and  careth  not  for  the  sheep, 

lam  the  good  shepherd,  and  know  my  sheep ^ 
and  am  known  of  mine. 

^^As  the  Father  knoweth  me,  even  so  know  I 
the  Father :  and  I  lay  down  my  lifo  for  my 
sheep. 

Therefore  doth  my  fother  love  me,  because  I 
lay  down  my  life,  that  I  might  take  it  again,^'^ 

"  Do  you  understand  that^  Dora  ?"  said  she, 
laying  down  the  book. 

"  Oh,  a  great  deal  better  than  I  should  have 
done.  Because  now  I  know  how  shepherds  took 
care  of  their  flock,  and  how  they  kept  the  wolves 
off." 

"  And,  then,  our  Saviour  really  did  die  for 
us  ?"  said  Carrie. 


THE  ANGEL  AND  THE  SHEPHERDS.  41 

"  We  shall  learn  more  of  that  as  we  go  on," 
replied  her  mother.  "  I  wonder  if  you  will  con- 
tinue to  be  as  much  interested  as  you  have  been 
this  afternoon  ?  Do  you  know  it  is  half  an  hour 
longer  than  our  usual  lesson  ?  and  Dora  has  not 
yawned  once." 

"And  Dora  thinks  Sunday  is  so  tiresome," 
said  Fannie. 

"  Oh,  not  now,  Fannie,  I 'm  sure !  I  like  it 
at  Oatlands  very  much.  It's  different  from 
Boston  Sundays." 

"Or  school  Sundays,  either,"  said  Lewis, 
laughing  at  Dora's  odd  remark.  "But  home 
is  nicer  than  anywhere  else,  every  day  in  the 
week." 

"  We  shall  not  have  time  for  your  little  poem 
to-day,"  said  Mrs.  Elliott,  to  Fannie  and  Dora; 
"  we  will  have  it  before  our  lesson  next  week. 
Fannie  may  have  the  next  picture,  and  I  will 
help  her  study  it  out." 


THE  FIFTH  PICTURE. 


THE  FLIGHT  INTO  EGYPT. 

And  now,"  said  Fannie,  when  they  were  as- 
sembled in  Mrs.  Elliott's  room,  the  following 
Sunday,  "  let  Dora  and  I  say  that  little  hymn 
before  we  begin  the  lesson." 

The  rest  thought  this  would  be  a  good  plan. 
So  here  is  the  poem  as  they  repeated  it : 

ANGELS. 

The  holiest  who  dwell  on  earth, 

Must  struggle  here  with  sin, 
And  humbly  seek  the  gate  of  heaven, 

Through  Jesus  enter  in. 

(42) 


THE  FLIGHT  INTO  EGYPT. 


But  thanks  be  unto  God!  there  is 

A  bright  and  happy  host, 
Who  never  by  the  slightest  sin 

Their  innocence  have  lost. 

How  lovely  must  their  faces  be, 
Who  have  no  evil  thought ; 

How  boundless  their  intelligence. 
By  heavenly  wisdom  taught. 

They  dwell  about  their  Maker's  throne 
Till  they  are  wrapped  with  light, 

And  not  the  foulest  air  of  earth 
Can  stain  their  robes  of  white. 

Although  the  presence  of  their  God 

Is  their  exalted  home, 
On  missions  of  the  purest  love 

Unto  the  world  they  come. 

Their  shining  hosts  are  filled  with  joy, 

If  but  a  child  repent; 
In  minist'ring  to  humble  saints 

Their  mighty  power  is  spent. 

And  yet  a  holy  angel's  prayer 

No  mortal  need  desire. 
For  we  are  nearer  to  th^  Lord 

Than  all  the  angel-choir. 

The  blessed  Saviour  on  the  earth 

In  human  nature  stood, 
That  he  might  wash  our  guilt  away, 

And  bring  us  near  to  God. 


44  THE  FLIGHT  INTO  EGYPT. 


"  That  would  do  very  nicely  to  go  with  our 
second  lesson,"  said  Mrs.  Elliott,  ''and  very 
beautiful  it  is.  We  are  rouch  obliged  to  you 
for  learning  it.  Now,  Miss  Fannie,  can  you 
tell  us  what  your  picture  is 

"It  seems  to  be  in  the  country,  mamma. 
There  are  mountains,  and  a  river,  and  great 
heavy  black  rocks ;  then  in  the  middle  of  all, 
there  are  two  people.  A  man,  who  looks  as  if 
he  was  travelling ;  and  he  is  leading  an  ass,  or 
•  donkeys  we  call  them,  on  which  a  lady  sits. 
The  lady  has  a  little  baby  in  her  arms." 

''And  w^ho  are  the  people,  Fannie?" 

"Mary,  the  mother  of  Jesus,  and  Joseph  her 
husband,  and  our  Saviour  himself  is  the 
child." 

"  They  look  as  if  they  w^ere  going  on  a  long 
journey.    What  can  you  tell  me  about  it." 

"  They  are  flying  to  Egypt,  to  get  out  of  the 
way  of  wicked  king  Herod." 

"  Well,  tell  us  why  they  w^ere  afraid  of  him ; 
try  and  remember  all  you  have  read  to  me  this 
^  week." 

"  The  shepherds  told  every  one  w^hat  they 
had  seen  ;  that  was  the  first  of  it.    So  it  spread 


THE  FLIGHT  INTO  EGYPT. 


45 


until  the  king  heard  about  the  little  baby,  and 
he  was  very  much  troubled." 

"  Why  should  a  great  and  powerful  king  be 
troubled  because  a  little  child  had  been  born, 
and  laid  in  a  manger.  Can  you  tell  the  girls, 
Henry?" 

"  The  Jews  were  not  an  independent  people 
then.  The  Romans  had  conquered  the  country, 
and  put  a  king  over  them.  But  the  Jews  were 
thinking  all  the  while,  that  some  day  a  king  of 
their  own  should  come,  and  they  would  be  free 
from  the  Romans  once  more." 

"I  suppose  Herod  had  heard  of  this,  mam- 
ma ?"  said  Lewis. 

"  That  king  they  looked  for  was  to  be  the 
Saviour  of  their  nation,  they  thought,"  continued 
Henry.  ^ 

^'  Oh,  was  it  because  they  were  afraid  this 
was  the  Saviour?"  asked  Dora,  eagerly. 

^'And  then  Herod  would  have  to  give  up 
being  king,"  said  Fannie.  Oh,  I  don't  won- 
der he  was  troubled,  mamma !" 

"  And  what  did  he  do  about  it,  Fannie  ?" 
Why  there  were  wise  men,  who  came  and 
told  him  about  it  ;  and  they  talked  together. 


46 


THE  FLIGHT  INTO  EGYPT. 


And  Herod  told  them  to  go  and  see  if  they 
could  find  the  little  baby,  and  then  they  must 
let  him  know.  So  they  travelled  on,  and  tra- 
velled on,  a  great  many  days,  and  a  beautiful 
star  went  before  them,  and  led  them.  Then  it 
came  to  the  place,  and  the  star  stopped  in  the 
sky.  I  think  that 's  the  most  beautiful  part  of 
the  story,  mamma.  So  they  went  into  the  house, 
and  they  found  the  little  baby  and  his  mother, 
and  they  fell  down  and  worshipped  him." 

''Why  worship  anything  in  the  earth?"  said 
Dora ;  ''  is  not  that  wicked,  aunt  ?" 

"  But  you  forget,  my  dear,  that  Christ  was 
equal  with  God.  '  The  Father  and  Son  together 
are  worshipped  and  glorified.'  " 

''  Well,  to  go  on,  mamma.  They  brought 
such  beautiful  things,  and  ^ve  this  little  child 
'  gold,  and  frankincense,  and  myrrh.'  " 

"What  is  frankincense  and  myrrh,  Carrie  ?" 
asked  Mrs.  Elliott. 

''Precious  gums,  I  believe;  that  cost  ever 
so  much,  and  they  used  them  for  perfumes,  and 
in  the  temple." 

"  They  were  burned  in  the  altar  fires,  (were 
they  not,  Mrs.  Elliott  ?)  in  the  service,  and  they 
made  ointment  of  them." 


THE  FLIGHT  INTO  EGYPT.  47 


"  When  we  read  about  ointments  in  the  Bi- 
ble," said  Mrs.  Elliott,  "  it  means  a  peculiar 
sort  of  perfume,  several  kinds  mixed ;  some- 
thing as  we  make  cologne-water,  only  it  was 
much  thicker,  and  cost  a  great  deal  more.  They 
were  used  in  embalming  the  dead,  and  only, 
very  rich  people  could  afford  to  have  them. 
The  frankincense  and  myrrh  were  probably  as 
costly  as  the  gold  itself.    But  go  on,  Fannie." 

Herod  thought  this  little  child  should  not 
grow  up  to  be  king  instead  of  him.  Oh,  I  for- 
got to  say  that  the  wise  men  went  back  to  their 
own  country  without  telling  him  anything.  So 
he  made  a  dreadful  law,  that  all  the  children 
under  two  years  old  should  be  killed." 

"Then  I  suppose  he  thought  our  Saviour 
would  certainly  be  among  them,"  said  Dora. 

"He  was  mistaken  about  that,  though,"  an- 
swered Lewis,  "because  they  carried  off  the 
little  child,  and—" 

"  Hush,  my  son,  you  forget  that  your  sister 
is  telling  the  story." 

"  Lewis  was  right  about  it,"  said  Fannie. 

"  But  how  did  they  know  it  time  enough  .?^" 
asked  Dora. 


# 


48 


THE  FLIGHT  INTO  EGYPT. 


^'  God  told  them  about  it  in  a  dream.  Jo- 
seph knew  it,  and  he  took  his  wife,  and  the 
little  child,  and  fled.  That  is  what  the  picture 
is  about ;  they  are  going  to  Egypt." 

And  there  they  were  safe  as  possible,"  said 
Dora.  Oh,  Pm  so  glad  of  that.  But  were 
all  those  other  little  children  killed?" 

Yes,  the  cruel  law  was  obeyed,"  said  Mrs. 
Elliott. 

''Oh,  how  dreadfully  their  mothers  must 
have  felt !    Just  think  of  it,  Fannie." 

You  see  how  much  sorrow  one  cruel,  wicked 
person  may  cause,"  said  Mrs.  EUiott. 

How  long  did  they  stay  in  Egypt  ?"  asked 
Carrie. 

''Until  Herod  was  dead.  Then  they  were 
not  afraid  any  more  till  they  got  almost  home 
again.  They  found  that  his  son  w^as  king  in- 
st'ead  of  him.  So  they  did  not  go  just  where 
they  lived  before.  I  suppose  our  Sa^dour  must 
have  been  a  great  deal  older  by  that  time, 
wasn't  he,  mamma  ?" 

"  We  do  not  find  much  about  his  early  child- 
hood in  the  Testament,  but  there  is  one  inci- 
dent related  which  our  pictures  say  nothing 


THE  FLIGHT  INTO  EGYPT.  49 

about.  For  Sunday's  lesson  Carrie  may  tell  us 
about  this ;  and  Henry  will  take  the  next  pic- 
ture, if  he  would  like  to  join  us." 

Henry  said  he  would  try  and  do  as  well  as 
he  could.    He  seemed  to  know  a  great  deal 
more  about  the  Bible  than  the  other  children. 
In  the  first  place,  he  was  older.    Then  he  had 
been  an  only  child  at  home,  and  his  father 
being  a  clergyman,  of  course  it  was  more  natu- 
ral that  he  should  have  had  the  Bible  well  ex- 
plained.   He  had  a  good  memory,  and  was 
the  best  scholar  in  the  class  at  the  school  to 
which  he  had  been  sent  at  the  time  of  his  mo- 
ther's death,  a  year  before.    He  came  to  pass 
the  long  summer  holidays  with  Lewis,  because 
he  had  no  home.    Lewis  was  very  fond  and 
proud  of  him,  and  he  was  very  much  pleased 
when  he  saw  that  his  mother  liked  Henry  al- 
most as  much  as  he  did. 


D 


U,  OF  ILL  UB, 


THE  SIXTH  PICTUHE. 


CHRIST'S  TEMPTATION. 

''Come,  Dora,  it's  time  for  our  lesson,"  said 
Fannie,  as  three  o'clock  struck. 

Oh,  I  don't  want  to  go,  at  all.  I  wish  we 
didn't  have  any.  I 'd  a  great  deal  rather  read 
this  very  interesting  book.  Just  see  ;  it 's  about 
Cinderella  and  the  little  glass  slipper.  I  found 
it  on  Lewis's  table." 

Why,"  said  Carrie,  who  stood  waiting  for 
them,  that's  not  a  Sunday  book,  at  alT.  I 
should  not  think  you  would  read  it  to-day, 
Dora." 

"  I  don't  see  what  difference  it  makes,  I  am 
sure,  if  it 's  a  good  book  to  read  any  time." 


Christ's  temptation. 


51 


"  Do  you  think  it 's  right  to  read  fairy  tales 
on  Sunday?"  asked  Fannie,  appealing  to  Henry, 
who  stood  on  the  stairs  with  a  neatly-folded 
paper  in  his  hand. 

^^No,  I  do  not,"  was  the  decided  answer. 

"  I  don't  see  why,"  persisted  Dora. 

"  Well,  my  father  told  me,  when  he  found 
me  with  the  'Arabian  Nights'  once  between 
churches,  that  Sunday  had  been  given  us  to 
prepare  for  another  world,  and  reading  such 
stories  did  not  do  much  towards  it." 

"  No  ;  and  it 's  not  keeping  the  Sabbath-day 
holy— for  it 's  a  kind  of  play,"  said  Carrie. 

"  I  choose  to  do  it,"  answered  Dora,  angrily; 
"  and  I  shall,  so  there,  now"  — and  she  turned 
away  from  them  all,  as  they  stood  there  sorrow- 
fully. 

"  Won't  you  come  to  mamma's  room  ?  Please 
do,"  said  Fannie. 

"No,  I  will  noV^  —  and  Dora  spoke  more 
crossly  than  ever,  for  she  felt  that  she  was  doing 
wrong ;  and  when  we  feel  so,  we  are  very  apt 
to  make  other  people  the  sufferers. 

"  You  certainly  shall  not,"  said  a  deep  voice 
near  them,  which  made  them  all  start.  They 


52 


Christ's  temptation. 


did  not  know  any  one  was  listening ;  Mr.  Elliott 
had  come  to  the  door  of  his  own  room. 

"  I  shall  tell  your  aunt  that  you  are  not  to 
join  her  little  class  again,  until  you  can  feel 
more  docile  and  reasonable.  The  rest  had 
better  go  at  once.  Their  mother  will  expect 
>  them.  Dora  will  stay  in  her  own  room  until 
tea-time." 

You  can  imagine  how  very  much  troubled 
they  all  felt,  as  they  left  Dora  to  herself.  Each 
of  them  felt  as  if  the  fault  had  been  with  them, 
although  it  was  Dora's  entirely.  The  truth  was, 
her  old  weariness  of  Sunday  had  come  back 
again.  She  began  to  think  that  it  was  very 
hard,  not  only  to  have  to  go  to  church,  but  to 
have  a  Bible  lesson  at  home  besides.  Then 
she  found  this  nice  new  book  on  a  table  in  the 
boys'  room.  She  went  in  for  a  pencil  she  had 
lent  Lewis  the  night  before.  The  pretty  cover 
attracted  her  attention,  and,  without  thinking 
whether  it  was  right  or  not,  she  had  carried  it 
off  into  her  own  room.  She  felt  she  was  doing 
WTong  as  soon  as  Fannie  spoke  to  her,  but  she 
was  determined  not  to  show  it.  Poor  child !  to 
give  way  to  such  an  ill-temper ! 


Christ's  temptation.  53 

But  let  us  go  to  Mrs.  Elliott's  room  with  the 
children,  and  leave  Dora  to  her  own  thoughts. 

They  did  not  feel  as  happy  as  usual,  for  they 
missed  their  cousin.  Came  was  to  commence, 
as  she  had  the  childhood  of  our  Saviour  to 
speak  of. 

"  The  story  mamma  meant,"  said  she,  "was 
'Christ  talking  with  the  doctors  in  the  Temple  ' 
When  I  was  about  as  large  as  Dora,  I  used  to 
think  It  meant  real  doctors,  like  those  that  come 
to  see  us  when  we  are  sick.  But  I  asked  papa 
one  day,  and  he  told  me  it  meant  men  who 
were  learned  about  holy  things -about  God's 
aw,  and  the  ceremonies  he  had  commanded 
the  children  of  Israel  to  attend  to." 

"  How  did  our  Saviour  come  to  the  Temple 
when  he  did  not  live  in  Jerusalem,  where  it 
was  placed  ?"  asked  Mrs.  Elliott. 

"His  father  and  mother  went  every  year  to 
the  Feast  of  the  Passover,  the  Testament  says." 
^  What  is  that,  mamma?"  asked  Fannie. 
"You  remember  about  Joseph  and  his  bre- 
thren, do  you  not?"  said  Mrs.  Elliott.  How 
there  was  a  famine,  and  they  all  came  to  live 
m  Egypt?   After  a  time,  the  king,  who  loved 


( 


54  Christ's  temptation. 

Joseph  and  protected  him  and  his  family,  died. 
The  Jews  were  sometimes  called  the  ^  Children 
of  Israel/  because  they  were  descended  from 
Jacob,  whom  God  himself  named  Israel,  when 
he  talked  with  them  at  Bethel.  Whose  son 
w^as  Jacob,  Lewis?" 

"  The  son  of  Isaac,  the  son  of  Abraham ;  and 
it  was  to  Abraham  that  God  first  promised  a 
Saviour  to  the  world.  We  learned  that  in  the 
last  sermon  w^e  heard  before  we  came  away 
from  school." 

Why,  I  don't  remember  it,  Lewis,"  said 
Henry. 

''Dr.  Porter  explained  to  us,  that  God  made 
a  new  covenant  with  Abraham,  when  he  found 
he  was  so  ready  to  offer  up  Isaac.  He  said,  in 
thy  children  or  descendants  '  shall  all  the  na- 
tions of  the  earth  be  blessed ;'  and  that  could 
only  mean  our  Saviour,  because  no  other  per- 
son had  blessed  all  the  world." 

''  I  am  glad  you  remember  so  w^ell,  for  you 
are  quite  right,"  said  Mrs.  Elliott.  ''As  I  was 
going  to  tell  you,  Fannie,  the  Jews  grew  to  be 
a  great  nation,  and  were  very  much  oppressed 
by  the  people  of  the  land  where  they  lived. 


CHRIST'S  TEMPTATION, 


55 


After  a  long  time,  they  were  delivered  from  this 
bondage,  as  Lewis  and  Henry  will  remember, 
by  means  of  fearful  plagues  sent  to  the  Egyp- 
tians. The  last,  w^as  the  death  of  the  oldest 
son  in  every  family.  But  none  of  the  Israelites 
died,  because  they  sprinkled  the  blood  of  a 
lamb  upon  the  door-posts,  and  the  angel  of 
death  passed  by  this  token.  So  God  com- 
manded them  always  to  keep  a  feast  of  celebra- 
tion, called  the  Passover,  to  remember  this 
great  deliverance  by;  something  as  we  cele- 
brate Christmas.  The  Jews  were  very  faithful 
to  this ;  and  as  there  w^as  but  one  great  church 
or  temple  in  all  their  country,  they  went  every 
year  to  Jerusalem,  where  it  was  situated,  to 
keep  this  festival." 

How  very  interesting,"  said  Fannie.  Did 
everybody  go  ?" 

All  who  could.  They  went  in  great  com- 
panies, and  made  a  most  joyful  procession.  I 
should  like  you  to  remember  about  this,  for  it 
will  help  you  to  understand  many  other  things 
we  shall  read  about." 

^^It  was  so  —  our  Saviour  went  up  with  his 
father  and  mother/'  said  Carrie,      He  was  only 


56 


Christ's  temptation. 


twelve  years  old ;  and  when  they  were  ready  to 
come  home,  they  started,  thinking  he  was  w^ith 
some  of  their  friends  in  the  company.  But  after 
they  had  travelled  a  day,  they  looked  for  him, 
and  could  not  find  him.  So  they  were  very 
much  troubled,  and  went  back  to  Jerusalem  to 
look  for  him.  And  there  he  was  in  the  Temple, 
talking  with  those  learned  men,  and  asking  them 
questions." 

"  How  very  strange !"  said  Fannie. 
Well,  his  mother  felt  very  badly,  and  she 
asked  him  how  he  came  to  do  so.  He  answered 
them,  that  he  must  be  about  his  Father's  busi- 
ness. That  meant  his  Father  in  heaven,  mamma 
explained  to  me.  They  did  not  understand  it, 
but  his  mother  thought  it  was  very  strange. 
But  he  went  home  with  them,  and  obeyed  them 
always  until  he  was  grown  up." 

''You  have  given  the  story  verj^  well,  my 
dear,"  said  her  mother;  "and  now  we  come  to 
the  manhood  of  our  Saviour,  having  seen  him 
as  an  infant  and  a  child.  We  suppose  he  w^as 
about  thirty  years  old  when  he  first  began  to  go 
through  the  country  teaching.  What  was  the 
first  thing  recorded  of  his  ministry,  Lewis  ?" 


Christ's  temptation. 


57 


"Why,  preaching  to  the  people  from  the 
mountain.    Was  n't  it  ?" 

"  No,  I  think  not,"  replied  his  mother.  "  You 
will  find  that  our  Master,  as  I  delight  to  call 
him,  taught  first  by  example  instead  of  words. 
Perhaps  this  was  to  show  us  our  duty  in  that 
respect.  He  came  to  John,  who  was  preaching 
near  the  river  Jordan,  and  was  baptized  by 
him." 

"Oh,  I  remember  now.  Heaven  opened, 
and  the  Spirit  of  God  came  like  a  dove,  and 
there  was  a  voice  said,  '  Thou  art  my  beloved 
Son,  in  thee  I  am  well  pleased.'  " 

"  Yes,  that  is  it ;  and  now  we  have  come  to 
the  subject  of  the  next  picture,  which  I  hope 
Henry  is  prepared  to  tell  us  about." 

Henry,  as  we  have  said  before,  was  very  shy. 
He  drew  out  the  little  folded  paper  which  he 
had  brought  from  his  own  room,  with  many 
blushes. 

"  I  thought  I  could  write  what  I  had  learned 
better  than  I  could  tell  it,  Mrs.  Elliott,"  he  said. 

So  Mrs.  Elliott  smiled  kindly  to  encourage 
him,  and  said  she  had  no  doubt  they  should  all 
be  interested  to  listen.    Henry  wrote  the  best 


4 


58  Christ's  temptation. 

themes  or  compositions  in  his  class  at  school, 
and  it  was  Lewis  who  suggested  this  plan,  be- 
cause he  knew  how  confused  Henry  would 
sometimes  get  in  recitation,  although  he  under- 
stood the  lessons  perfectly. 

First  of  all  the  children  looked  at  the  picture 
which  Mrs.  Elliott  took  from  the  portfolio. 
None  of  them  liked  it,  Fannie  thought  it  was 
a  shame  it  should  be  put  with  so  many  pretty 
ones.  You  will  look  at  it  for  yourselves,  and 
see  if  you  do  not  think  as  Fannie  did.  But 
Mrs.  Elliott  explained  to  them,  that  the  figure 
of  Satan  was  made  to  express  the  idea  of  the 
hatefulness  of  sin.  It  is  always  represented  by 
painters  as  very  hideous.  We  cannot,  of  course, 
have  any  true  picture  of  him,  for  he  is  a  spirit, 
and  we  can  only  imagine  a  form  for  the  Father 
of  all  Evil.  ''But,"  said  Mrs.  Elliott,  ''re- 
member,  my  dear  children,  that  sin  is  as  hate* 
ful  to  our  Father  in  heaven,  as  this  figure  of 
Satan  is  to  you.  And  whenever  you  give  way 
to  wailful  faults  always  recall  this  thought.  God 
is  ever  watching  over  us,  and  he  can  see  the 
deformity  of  our  souls,  which  is  hidden  from 
our  earthly  friends." 


Christ's  temptation. 


59 


After  they  had  laid  down  the  picture,  Henry- 
read  his  explanation. 

"  The  picture  which  I  have  before  me,  re- 
presents our  Saviour  being  tempted  by  Satan. 
After  he  was  baptized,  the  Bible  says  he  was 
'led  by  the  Spirit  into  the  wilderness.'  Mrs. 
Elliott  explained  this  to  me  when  I  read  it  to 
her  this  morning.  That  Jesus  was  directed  by 
God's  Holy  Spirit,  to  go  into  this  wilderness. 
She  said  that  we  were  all  directed  by  this  guar- 
dian of  the  soul,  and  repeated  a  text,  which  I 
found  in  the  third  chapter  of  Proverbs,  and  the 
sixth  verse. 

"  '  In  all  thy  ways  acknowledge  him^  and  he 
will  direct  thy  paths. 

"  I  learned  it  because  I  thought  it  was  an 
excellent  motto,  and  put  it  in  my  composition 
book,  under  'there's  no  such  word  as  fail,' 
which  Lewis  and  I  had  both  selected  before. 
Mrs.  EUiott  said  when  I  grew  up  I  must  re- 
member that  the  same  spirit  which  guided  our 
Saviour  would  lead  me,  if  I  wished  for  it. 

"  When  he  was  in  the  wilderness  Jesus  fasted 
forty  days  and  forty  nights,  and  then  '  he  was 
an  hungered.'    I  suppose  it  was  because  he 


60 


CHRIST^S  TEMPTATION. 


was  SO  weak,  that  Satan  took  this  time  to  tempt 
him.  Mrs.  Elliott  said  she  had  thought  of  that, 
and  it  showed  us  how  watchful  Satan  was,  and 
how  well  he  knew  when  we  were  off  our  guard. 

"So  first  of  all  he  said,  '  If  thou  art  the  Son 
of  God^  command  these  stones  to  be  made  bread, 
But  Jesus  looked  at  him,  and  told  him  it  was 
written,  that  '  men  should  not  live  by  bread  alone ^ 
but  by  every  word  of  God.^  I  have  heard  my 
father  say  that  '  our  daily  bread'  did  not  mean 
only  the  bread  we  eat  at  table,  but  the  good 
instructions  we  found  in  the  Bible,  which  were 
food  for  our  souls. 

"  When  Satan  found  that  this  would  not  do, 
he  tried  again,  and  took  our  Saviour  up  on  top 
of  a  high  mountain,  and  showed  him  all  the 
world  at  once.  And  he  told  Jesus  that  if  he 
would  only  worship  him  he  would  give  him 
everything  there  was  there.  It  seemed  as  if 
our  Saviour  knew  exactly  the  right  answers  to 
make,  for  he  said, 

"  '  Get  thee  behind  me,  Satan^for  it  is  writ- 
ten^ Thou  shalt  worship  the  Lord  thy  Gody  and 
him  only  shalt  thou  serve,"^ 

"  But  Satan  was  very  bold  indeed,  and  this 


Christ's  temptation. 


61 


did  not  stop  him.  He  tried  to  make  our  Sa- 
viour throw  himself  down  from  the  top  of  a  very- 
high  place.  As  he  had  been  replied  to  from 
the  Bible,  Satan  made  use  of  a  text  in  this 
temptation.  He  said,  '  If  thou  be  the  Son  of 
Gody  cast  thyself  down  from  hence  ;  for  it  is 
written^ 

'He  shall  give  his  angels  charge  over  thee 
to  keep  thee. 

"  '  And  in  their  hands  they  shall  hear  thee  up^ 
lest  at  any  time  thou  dash  thy  foot  against  a 
stone, ^ 

"But  Jesus  was  not  troubled  at  this  either. 
He  knew  that  Satan  was  only  trying  to  make 
him  sin.    So  he  answered, 

"  '  Thou  shalt  not  tempt  the  Lord  thy  God.^ 
"  I  thought,  at  first,  that  this  meant  to  say 
he  was  equal  with  God  himself.  But  Mrs.  El- 
liott told  me,  it  was  to  show  us  that  we  were 
not  to  go  into  danger,  when  we  knew  danger 
was  there,  with  a  false  confidence  in  the  power 
of  God  to  save  us.  I  liked  the  lesson  very 
much,  and  I  hope  I  shall  be  able  to  make  the 
rest  understand  it  as  well  as  I  did,  after  Mrs. 
Elliott's  explanation," 


62  Christ's  temptation. 

The  children  had  listened  very  attentively 
while  Henry  was  reading,  and  Mrs.  Elliott 
thanked  him  as  soon  as  he  had  finished.  She 
said  he  had  remembered  much  more  than  she 
expected,  and  had  made  the  subject  quite  plain. 

"It  was  almost  a  httle  sermon,  wasn't  it, 
mamma?"  said  Fannie. 

"Perhaps  he  will  be  a  minister,  and  write 
sermons  some  day,  like  his  father,"  answered 
Carrie. 

Mrs.  Elliott  saw  that  this  made  Henry  feel 
uncomfortable,  and  so  she  said : 

"  If  it  is  a  sermon,  there  is  something  to  be 
learned  from  it.  Now  I  have  thought  of  seve- 
ral things. 

"  First,  we  are  exposed  to  temptation  even 
in  the  holiest  employments ;  for  our  Saviour's 
baptism  had  just  taken  place,  and  he  was  fast- 
ing when  Satan  came  to  him. 

"  Secondly,  we  are  tempted  through  our  ne- 
cessities and  weaknesses,  as  Satan  took  advan- 
tage of  the  hunger  of  our  Lord. 

"  Thirdly,  through  our  love  of  the  world, 
and  its  pleasures  and  honours,  we  are  in  dan- 
ger of  worshipping  the  spirit  of  evil. 


Christ's  temptation.  63 

"Fourthly,  we  are  exposed  to  sin  by  false 
confidence  in  God's  mercy  and  forgiveness. 

"And  last  of  all,  that  our  enemy  is  perse- 
vering, and  if  beaten  in  one  attack,  will  try  us 
again.  But  we  must  take  courage,  for  God 
has  said,  through  one  of  the  apostles, 

^"^ '  B£sist  the  devil,  and  he  will  flee  from  you.' 

"And  in  another  place  we  are  told  of  our 
Saviour  what  you  will  now  be  able  to  under- 
stand, 

"'In  that  he  himself  hath  suffered,  being 
tempted,  he  is  able  to  succour  them  that  are 
tempted.'' " 

Fannie  thought  this  was  more  like  a  sermon 
than  ever,  but  she  said  she  would  tiy  to  re- 
member it.  So  she  ran  away  to  condole  with 
Dora,  at  havmg  lost  such  an  interesting  lesson 


THE  SEVENTH  PICTUHE. 


CHRIST  AND  THE  WOMAN  OF  CANAAN. 

Dora  felt  very  unhappy,  when  her  cousins  shut 
the  door,  and  left  her  alone.  It  was  a  lovely 
day,  and  there  was  everything  around  her  to 
make  one  cheerful.  The  window  was  open  into 
the  garden,  and  she  could  hear  the  low  insect- 
song  that  is  so  pleasant  on  a  warm  summer 's- 
day.  The  flowers  were  nodding  sleepily  on 
their  stems,  as  if  the  sunshine  was  too  bright. 
The  grass  upon  the  lawn  shivered  in  the  wind, 
as  it  crept  softly  up  from  the  little  brook.  A 
humming-bird  was  flitting  in  the  shadow  of  the 
grape-vine,  which  grew  over  the  lattice  of  the 
piazza.  Dora  could  see  its  deUcate  form  and 
brilliant  colours,  as  it  passed  near  her. 

(64) 


/ 


CHRIST  AND  THE  WOMAN  OF  CANAAN,  65 


She  drew  her  httle  rocking-chair  close  to  the 
window,  and  sat  down  with  the  fairy  tale  in  her 
hand.  But  though  she  had  just  reached  the 
most  interesting  part,  where  the  pumpkin  was 
changed  to  a  coach,  that  Cinderella  might  go  to 
a  party  in  it,  she  could  not  fix  her  thoughts  on 
what  she  read.  She  drew  her  chair  still  closer, 
and  leaned  her  arm  on  the  window-sill,  resolved 
that  she  would  go  on,  in  spite  of  everything. 
But  before  she  knew  it,  the  page  had  grown 
misty  before  her  eyes,  and  she  was  thinking  of. 
other  things. 

"I  am  afraid  I  have  been  naughty,'^  the  little 
girl  said  to  herself  But  then  they  ought  not 
to  have  teazed  me  so.  It  was  downright  cross 
in  uncle  Elliott  to  say  I  should  not  go  to  the 
lesson ;  perhaps  I  would  have  gone,  after  all. 
It  will  be  his  fault,  and  not  mine.  And  what 
can  possibly  be  the  harm  of  reading  a  story- 
book?  Oh,  dear!''  and  Dora  drew  a  long 
breath.  She  felt  very  much  like  crying,  though 
she  would  not  allow  herself  to  think  so. 

Then  as  she  sat  there  quietly,  with  everything 
so  still  around  her,  she  heard  the  voices  of  the 
children  come  through  the  open  window,  and 


66     CHRIST  AND  THE  WOMAN  OF  CANAAN. 


she  wondered  what  the  picture  was  that  they 
were  talking  about.  She  could  not  read,  al- 
though she  tried  to  again.  Her  thoughts  would 
wander  aw^ay,  and  she  became  very  impatient 
at  having  to  stay  in  her  room  alone. 

''Oh,  how  tiresome  this  is!"  she  thought. 
''  Even  Miss  Dayton's  Sunday-school  class  was 
better.  I  wonder  if  I  am  not  to  go  with  them 
to  aunt  Margaret's  room  at  all  again  ?"  and  at 
last  she  worked  herself  up  to  a  regular  cry,  and 
began  to  think  she  w^as  very  ill-used,  as  she 
sobbed  bitterly. 

It  was  in  this  mood  that  Fannie  found  her, 
when  the  lesson  was  over.  The  kind-hearted 
child  was  very  much  troubled  to  see  her  cousin 
so  sad  ;  and  after  trying  in  vain  to  comfort  her, 
ran  aw^ay  to  ask  her  papa  if  he  would  not  for- 
give Dora.  Mr.  Elliott  said,  certainly,  if  she 
was  sorry  for  her  impatient,  rude  w^ords,  and 
would  tell  her  aunt  so.  But  Dora  was  obsti- 
nate. She  refused  to  do  this,  and  was  put  to 
bed  by  cousin  Jane,  after  having  supper  in  her 
own  room,  thoroughly  disgraced. 

She  cried  herself  to  sleep,  trying  to  make  her- 
self believe  that  her  cousins  were  very  unkind 


CHRIST  AND  THE  WOMAN  OF  CANAAN.  67 


to  her,  and  everybody  treated  her  badly.  She 
woke  with  a  headache  the  next  morning,  as  might 
have  been  expected.  Her  cousins  were  already 
dressed,  and  the  breakfast-bell  was  ringing.  ' 

That  was  a  sad  and  sullen  day  for  Dora.  She 
kept  apart  from  the  rest,  and  was  never  so  glad 
in  her  life  to  have  lessons  finished.   Mrs.  Elliott 
was  not  as  well  as  usual,  and  there  was  no 
sewing-hour  in  the  afternoon.    The  rest  of  the 
children  went  off  on  a  walk,  which  had  been 
talked  about  for  a  long  time.    They  invited 
Dora  to  join  them,  very  kindly,  but  she  pre- 
ferred to  stay  at  home,  and  feel  that  she  was 
badly  used  by  all  in  the  house.    She  walked 
up  and  down  the  broad  gravel  path,  with  Cin- 
derella in  her  hand,  after  she  had  finished  read- 
ing that  very  interesting  story.    She  had  not 
enjoyed  it  as  much  as  she  had  expected  to. 
Now  the  tale  was  finished,  and  she  began  to 
feel  lonely  and  wretched  again.    She  had  a 
great  mind  to  ask  to  be  sent  home ;  but  she 
thought  of  her  formal  governess,  and  concluded 
anything  was  preferable  to  coming  under  her  rule 
again.   Finally,  she  sat  down  in  the  arbour,  and 
leaning  her  head  on  one  of  the  seats,  again  re- 


68    CHRIST  AND  THE  WOMAN  OF  CANAAN. 

sorted  to  the  usual  habit  of  children  when  any- 
thing troubles  them — a  long  cry.  The  day  was 
warm,  her  head  was  throbbing,  but  still  she  sat 
there,  while  the  little  birds  sung  around  her,  as 
if  there  was  no  such  thing  as  trouble  in  the 
world. 

Mrs.  Elliott  had  walked  to  the  window  of 
her  room,  and  discovered  Dora  in  this  attitude. 
She  had  supposed  the  children  had  all  gone  out 
together,  and  was  surprised  to  find  her  little 
niece  still  indulging  her  unhappy  temper  of  the 
day  before.  At  first,  she  thought  she  would  not 
notice  it  at  all;  but  as  she  stood  there,  watching 
the  child,  tears  came  into  her  own  eyes.  She 
thought  of  her  childhood  —  of  its  little  sorrows 
and  trials,  in  which  Dora's  mother  had  always 
comforted  her,  and  then  of  her  death,  which 
separated  them  so  sadly.  She  could  not  en- 
dure to  see  her  sister's  child  wretched,  and 
calling  cousin  Jane,  she  begged  her  to  send 
Dora  in. 

The  little  girl  started,  when  the  message  was 
first  brought  to  her,  for  she  was  afraid  Mrs. 
EUiott  intended  to  reprove  her.  She  went  very 
unwillingly  towards  the  house ;  but  when  she 


CHRIST  AND  THE  WOMAN  OF  CANAAN.  69 

came  to  the  door  of  her  aunt's  room,  ?.nd  saw 
Mrs.  Elliott  standing  there,  looking  so  like  the 
picture  of  her  own  mamma,  her  naughty  temper 
gave  way. 

"  Oh,  aunt  Margaret,"  she  said,  "  I  have  been 
very  miserable"  —  and  she  hid  her  face  in  the 
arms  that  were  open  to  receive  her. 

Then  she  felt  hot  tears  fall  upon  the  hand 
which  Mrs.  Elliott  had  taken  in  her  own. 

"Please  forgive  me,"  she  whispered  ;  "in- 
deed, I  was  only  a  very  little  naughty  at  first; 
but  then  it  went  on  and  on,  without  my  mean- 
ing to." 

"Do  you  not  find,  my  dear,  that  cherishing 
one  angry  feeling,  leads  to  others .?"  said  Mrs. 
Elliott,  speaking  gravely. 

"  Oh,  yes,  indeed !"  answered  Dora.  "  At 
first,  I  only  wanted  to  read,  instead  of  corxiing 
to  the  lesson.  Then  I  said  something  rude,  and 
uncle  scolded  me.  And  I  got  very  angry,  in- 
deed, and  slammed  the  door  when  he  went  out. 
I  cried  all  night,  but  I  said  I  would  not  ask 
your  forgiveness.  Sometimes  I  wanted  to,  but 
there  was  something  that  wouldn't  let  me. 
But  I 'm  very  sorry,  and  I  hope  I  shan't  do  so 
again." 


70    CHRIST  AND  THE  WOMAN  OF  CANAAN. 

Mrs.  Elliott  and  Dora  had  a  long  talk  after 
this.  Mrs.  Elliott  showed  her  little  niece  how 
one  slight  action,  if  wrong,  often  led  to  much 
worse  things.  Then  she  bade  her  bathe  her 
eyes,  which  were  quite  swollen  with  crying, 
and  brush  her  hair  back  from  her  heated  face. 
Then  she  proposed  that  Dora  should  take  the 
next  picture  in  the  portfolio,  and  she  would 
explain  it  to  her,  as  they  had  decided  Dora's 
should  come  on  the  following  Sunday. 

It  was  called  "  Christ  and  the  Woman  of 
Canaan and  represented  our  Saviour,  with  a 
group  of  disciples,  standing  in  what  seemed  to 
be  an  open  court.  It  was  paved  with  marble, 
and  there  were  marble  pillars  and  palm-trees 
near  them.  A  young  and  beautiful  woman 
knelt  at  the  feet  of  Jesus,  with  her  hands  , 
clasped,  as  if  she  was  entreating  him  to  grant 
her  some  great  favour.  One  of  the  disciples 
looked  as  if  he  wanted  to  send  her  away,  and 
even  the  Saviour  was  turning  from  her. 

Then  Mrs.  ElUott  took  the  New  Testament, 
and  read  the  story  which  it  illustrated,  from  the 
fifteenth  chapter  of  Matthew. 

"After  the  Temptation,  which  we  read  of  in 


CHKIST  AND  THE  WOMAN  OF  CANAAN.  71 


the  last  chapter,  the  ministry  of  Christ  was  really 
commenced.  We  read  of  his  Sermon  on  the 
Mount,  which  contains  the  principal  rules  of  the 
Christian  religion.  Then  there  are  numerous 
miracles  recorded,  more  especially  those  in 
w^hich  he  performed  w^onderful  cures  upon  the 
sick,  and  lame,  and  blind.  No  doubt  the  news 
of  this  spread  very  rapidly.  Think  if  any  one 
should  come  to  this  country  now^,  who  could 
cure  any  illness,  however  terrible,  by  a  look  or 
a  touch !  How  soon  every  one  w^ould  be  talk- 
ing about  it,  and  how  anxious  they  would  be, 
if  they  had  any  sick  friends,  to  bring  them  to 
such  a  w^onderful  physician. 

"  There  are  a  great  many  of  these  instances 
told  in  the  Testament.  Once  there  was  a  man 
who  had  been  always  blind,  quite  cured,  so 
that  he  could  see  Hke  other  people.  A  w^oman 
who  had  been  sick  twelve  years,  only  touched 
the  hem  of  his  garment,  and  was  well  at  once, 
though  all  the  physicians  she  consulted  had 
given  her  up  !  At  another  time  a  man  sick  of 
the  palsy,  (an  illness  which  takes  away  all 
strength,  so  that  the  person  has  no  use  of  their 
hands  or  feet,)  arose,  took  up  the  bed  they 


72     CHRIST  AND  THE  WOMAN  OF  CANAAN. 

had  brought  him  upon  to  Jesus^  and  vvalked 
,away. 

"  There  was  one  person  who  heard  of  this, 
that  had  a  little  daughter  very  ill.  There  was 
no  hope  for  this  child,  for  it  was  an  illness  over 
which  physicians  had  no  power.  So  she  came 
to  Jesus,  and  begged  him  to  cure  her  daugh- 
ter. 

He  did  not  answer  her  at  all,  and  his  dis- 
ciples supposed  he  was  angry,  so  they  wanted 
to  send  her  away.  This  is  what  is  represented 
in  the  picture,  and  you  can  see  how  earnestly 
the  woman  implores  our  Saviour  to  listen.  She 
was  not  a  Jewess,  her  parents  were  Greeks ;  and 
when  our  Saviour  answered  her  at  last,  it  was 
only  to  say,  'I  am  not  sent  hut  only  to  the  lost 
sheep  of  the  house  of  Israel,'^ 

It  was  as  much  as  to  say  he  could  do  no- 
thing for  her.  Many  would  have  gone  away 
at  this,  but  she  did  not  do  so.  She  thought  of 
the  daughter  she  loved  so  dearly,  and  that  this 
was  her  only  hope.  So  she  prayed  again  more 
earnestly,  and  said, 
^'  ^  Lord  J  help  me.' 

Perhaps  the  disciples  could  not  understand 


CHRIST  AND  THE  WOMAN  OF  CANAAN.  73 

it,  when  their  Master,  usually  so  gentle,  an- 
swered her, 

'''It  is  not  meet  to  take  the  children's  bread 
and  cast  it  unto  dogs.'^ 

"  This  was  adding  reproof  to  his  coldness ; 
but  instead  of  being  offended,  she  answered 
meekly, 

"  '  Truth,  Lord,  yet  the  dogs  eat  of  the  crumbs 
which  fall  from  their  masterh  tahle? 

"  Nothing  could  be  more  truly  humble.  It 
touched  her  hearers  to  the  heart,  and  Jesus  an- 
swered with  kindness,  that  made  amends  for 
all  her  disappointment, 

"'Oh,  woman,  great  is  thy  faith;  be  it  unto 
thee  even  as  thou  wilt,^ 

"  From  that  very  moment  her  daughter  was 
cured." 

Dora  thought  it  was  strange  that  Jesus  should 
not  have  cured  the  little  girl  at  once.  But  Mrs. 
Elhott  said  that  when  she  was  a  few  years  older, 
she  would  see  that  he  had  only  intended  to  try 
the  mother's  faith,  and  find  if  she  really  did  be- 
lieve he  could  do  anything  she  had  asked. 

This  story  has  been  a  great  comfort  to  many 
persons,  she  said,  when  prayers  did  not  seem 


74     CHRIST  AND  THE  WOMAN  OF  CANAAN. 

to  be  heard,  and  they  had  almost  fainted  in  their 
distress.  But  they  remembered  that  God  some- 
times saw  fit  to  try  the  reliance  of  his  people  on 
Him,  by  adding  greater  sorrows  than  those  from 
which  they  prayed  to  be  delivered. 

Dora  was  so  much  interested  in  the  story  of 
the  poor  Greek  woman,  that  she  forgot  she  had 
been  in  disgrace.  When  the  children  came 
home,  they  were  delighted  to  see  her  look  so 
smiling  again.  She  told  them  what  a  delight- 
ful afternoon  she  had  passed,  and  could  hardly 
keep  from  talking  about  the  picture  all  the  even- 
ing. But  she  succeeded  in  keeping  quiet 
through  the  week,  and  the  next  Sunday  after- 
noon, with  her  aunt's  assistance,  she  related 
what  you  have  now  been  reading,  while  the 
rest  looked  at  the  picture. 


THE  EIGHTH  PICTURE. 


CHRIST  RAISING  THE  WIDOW'S  SON. 

Fannie  was  not  much  accustomed  to  read  or 
study.  To  tell  the  truth,  she  was  not  fond  of 
either.  Like  a  good  many  little  girls  I  have 
known,  she  liked  play  better.  She  would  pre- 
fer a  pretty  doll  before  all  the  story-books  in 
the  world,  and  a  run  with  her  hoop  to  listening 
to  the  most  beautiful  fairy  tale. 

She  was  appointed,  on  Dora's  Sunday,  to 
take  the  next  picture.  Her  mother  told  her  it 
was  a  very  interesting  one,  and  every  time  she 
would  come  to  her  in  play  hours,  they  would 
talk  it  all  over.  But  Monday,  Fannie  thought 
she  would  rather  watch  Lewis  while  he  painted 
a  violet  with  its  leaves.    Tuesday,  they  had  a 

(75) 


76        CHRIST  RAISING  THE  WIDOw's  SON. 

grand  picnic  luncheon,  by  the  brook.  Wednes- 
day morning,  Fannie  thought  of  the  picture, 
but  as  her  doll  needed  a  new  apron,  she  con- 
cluded that  there  was  quite  time  enough  yet. 
So  day  after  day  passed,  until  Mrs.  Elliott 
ceased  to  remind  the  little  girl  of  her  pleasant 
task,  and  Fannie  entirely  forgot  it.  Nor  did  it 
cross  her  mind  until  she  w^as  just  ready  for  bed 
on  Saturday  night.  Then  it  flashed  across  her 
recollection.  But  it  was  too  late,  the  rest  were 
in  bed,  and  her  mamma  was  engaged  with 
Cousin  Jane.  So  Fannie  went  to  sleep,  feeling 
very  much  mortified,  and  woke  next  day  in  bad 
humour  with  herself,  and  her  neglect. 

Mrs.  Elliott  did  not  scold.  Fannie  almost 
wished  she  had  done  so,  instead  of  looking  at 
her  so  calmly,  and  saying,  since  Fannie  did 
not  think  it  of  sufficient  consequence  to  attend 
to  her  appointments,  she  could  take  her  place 
for  this  afternoon."  The  httle  girl  was  suffi- 
ciently punished  by  the  look  of  surprise  which 
she  received  from  the  rest  of  the  children,  and 
the  calm  tone  of  rebuke  which  her  mother  used. 
It  was  a  sad,  uncomfortable  afternoon  for  Fan- 
nie, but  she  learned  an  excellent  lesson  by  her 


CHRIST  RAISING  THE  WIDOw's  SON.  77 


mortification.  Never  to  put  off  a  duty,  because 
there  was    time  enough  yet." 

The  portfoho  was  given  to  Henry,  who  se- 
lected from  it  the  print  next  in  order.  It  was 
a  representation  of  Christ  raising  the  widow's 
son.  There  was  the  bier  on  which  the  dead 
man  had  been  carried,  with  the  white  hnen 
drapery  which  had  been  wrapped  around  him, 
thrown  aside.  The  bearers  stood  by  in  an  atti- 
tude of  astonishment,  and  the  figure  of  the  wi- 
dowed mother,  kneeling  with  outstretched  hands 
and  straining  eyes,  was  in  the  foreground.  Our 
Saviour,  with  mild,  benignant  countenance,  was 
the  only  one  that  did  not  seem  fearful,  or 
amazed. 

I  think  the  reality  must  have  been  more 
beautiful  than  the  picture,"  said  Mrs.  Elliott. 

We  are  told  that  the  dead  man  was  the  '  only 
son  of  his  mother,  and  she  was  a  widow.'  Her 
husband  may  have  been  very  fond  of  her  and 
of  his  child.  We  will  imagine  them  living  in 
a  beautiful  home,  surrounded  by  all  that  can 
make  life  pleasant.  The  Jewish  lady  saw  her 
young  boy  grow  up  beautiful  and  noble.  Per- 
haps she  thanked  God  when  the  hour  for  even- 


78       CHRIST  RAISING  THE  ^VIDOw's  SON. 

ing  prayer  arrived,  and  the  household  met  to- 
gether to  worship  One  in  whom  their  fathers 
had  trusted,  for  giving  her  so  great  a  treasure. 
But  no  one  is  happy  long  in  this  world.  First 
the  boy's  father  died.  That  was  a  great  stroke, 
and  the  poor  widow  felt  as  if  she  could  never 
be  happy  again.  But  while  she  knelt  sad  and 
despondent,  and  asked  God  for  strength  to  bear 
her  trial,  she  heard  the  sweet  voice  of  her  child. 
He  had  stolen  into  the  room,  and  came  to  her 
with  his  playful,  childish  caresses.  She  felt  his 
soft  arms  twined  about  her  neck,  and  when  she 
turned,  his  father's  smile  shone  from  the  eyes 
of  the  boy,  and  she  felt  that  she  was  not  utterly 
desolate. 

"  She  had  something  still  to  live  for,  and  now, 
all  her  love,  and  care,  and  hope,  were  given  up 
to  him.  Every  wish  was  anticipated,  and  when 
misfortune  came,  and  her  worldly  wealth  was 
scattered,  that  God  might  prove  her  yet  more, 
the  boy  was  left,  and  she  did  not  murmur.  She 
toiled  for  him  through  the  long  days,  and 
w^atched  by  his  bed  while  he  slept.  And  he 
was  so  kind  and  gentle,  that  he  well  repaid  her 
for  all  her  care.    His  love  for  her  was  like  that 


CHRIST  RAISING  THE  WIDOW's  SON.  79 


of  a  daughter,  and  he  was  never  weary  in  talk- 
ing of  the  time  when  he  should  be  able  to  repay- 
all  the  sacrifices  and  self-denial  she  had  borne 
for  him.  The  hour  came  when  he  realized  the 
promises  of  his  boyhood,  and  the  widow's  heart 
'  sang  for  joy'  as  she  saw  him  all  that  she  could 
desire. 

"But,  alas!  there  was  another  trial  in  store 
for  her.  He  grew  weak  and  thin.  His  beauti- 
ful eyes  were  too  bright,  and  his  cheek  too 
deeply  red,  for  the  calm  pulse  of  health.  For 
a  long  time  she  refused  to  see  these  dreadful 
tokens.  But  at  length  it  could  be  no  longer 
hidden  from  her.  Her  son,  her  proud,  noble 
son,  must  die ! 

She  watched  beside  his  bed  day  by  day, 
as  she  had  done  in  his  infancy.  She  could  not 
give  him  up.  She  prayed  wildly  in  her  agony 
that  he  might  yet  be  spared.  But  no,  death 
was  at  hand.  She  saw  the  last  faint  breath  part 
from  his  pale  lips.  She  closed  the  eyes  that 
could  no  longer  answer  her  own  look  of  love. 
She  sat  beside  his  lifeless  form  in  speechless 
agony,  as  kind  friends  arrayed  him  for  the  last 
long  sleep  of  the  grave.    She  could  not  believe 


80       CHRIST  RAISING  THE  WIDOW's  SON. 

this  sad  calamity  had  befallen  her.  Then  the 
time  came  for  the  burial.  All  hope  was  passed. 
She  followed  the  bier  on  which  was  carried  all 
that  she  loved  in  the  world.  The  soft  breath 
of  the  country  swept  to  meet  her  as  the  train 
went  from  the  city  gates.  But  its  softness  did 
not  soothe  her.  The  waving  foliage  and  the 
blue  sky  had  no  charms,  she  did  not  see  them. 
All  her  thoughts  were  centred  on  her  son,  her 
pride,  her  strength.  She  was  following  him  to 
his  grave.  Oh,  the  lonely  home  to  which  she 
must  return  !  How  could  life  be  endured  with- 
out him ! 

"But  presently  they  meet  a  sad  and  gentle 
man,  who  bids  the  bearers  set  down  their  bur- 
den. There  is  something  in  his  bearing  that 
compels  them  to  obey.  The  solitary  mourner 
scarcely  heeds  the  interruption,  in  the  stupor  of 
her  grief,  until  she  hears  a  gentle  voice  say, 
'  w^eep  not.' 

"For  an  instant  her  anguish  passed  away, 
for  it  was  the  voice  of  her  Saviour  that  she  heard. 
He  came  and  touched  the  bier ;  he  spoke  a  few 
brief  w^ords,  and  the  dead  arose,  and  unclosed 
his  eyes.    He  was  alive  again!    The  widow 


CHRIST  RAISING  THE  WIDOW's  SON.  81 

was  no  longer  desolate.  Her  son  was  restored 
to  her  by  the  hands  of  our  Master.  Once  more 
his  eyes  rested  in  love  on  her  face  ;  once  more 
she  heard  the  tones  of  that  voice  she  had  thought 
for  ever  hushed ! 

''We  cannot  imagine  her  joy.  How  her 
friends  must  have  crowded  round,  and  wept 
with  her,  and  wondered,  saying,  '  can  this  in- 
deed be  so  !'  And  then  their  thanks  and  gra- 
titude were  poured  forth  to  the  unknown  friend 
who  had  thus  unexpectedly  made  them  happy. 
Think  with  what  rejoicing  they  returned  to  the 
widow's  home,  so  desolate  a  few  hours  before. 
The  couch  vacant  for  a  httle  while  was  ao-ain 
filled,  and  the  agony  which  the  poor  mother 
had  endured  only  fitted  her  to  enjoy  the  sudden 
return  of  life  and  hope. 

"  No  wonder  those  who  had  witnessed  this 
beautiful  scene  said  that  God  had  visited  his 
people.  They  acknowledged  the  power  which 
could  control  life  and  death,  to  be  divine ;  and 
soon  it  began  to  spread  beyond  the  little  city  of 
Nain,  until  the  whole  country  was  filled  with 
the  wonderful  story. 

"And  now,"  said  Mrs.  Elhott  after  a  little 

F 


82       CHRIST  RAISING  THE  WIDOW's  SON. 

pause,  we  have  had  a  recital  of  one  of  a  second 
class  of  mkacles.   What  are  miracles,  Lewis  ?" 

''Any  wonderful  thing  that  it  would  be  im- 
possible for  a  man  to  do." 

''Yes,  none  but  a  God  could  accomplish 
these  w^onderful  things ;  and  how  sad  the  delu- 
sion that  gives  this  power  to  any  mortal,  if  he 
should  be  ever  so  holy,  or  so  pure.  Now  let 
us  see  about  the  different  classes  of  miracles 
which  are  recorded  of  our  Saviour.  Tell  me 
one,  Dora." 

"  Healing  sick  people,  aunt  Margaret,  as  we 
read  about  the  poor  Greek  woman's  daugh- 
ter." 

"  And  what  were  you  thinking  of,  Fannie  ?" 

"  The  blind  man  w^ho  was  cured,  mamma." 

"  And  did  he  do  anything  else  supernatural, 
or  impossible  for  a  common  man  to  do  ?" 

"  Why,  walking  on  the  water,  mamma,"  said 
Carrie.  "  And  turning  water  into  wine,"  added 
Henry. 

"But  I  think  raising  the  dead  was  the  most 
wonderful  of  all,"  said  Lewis.  "No  one  but 
a  God  could  give  life,  I  am  sure.  I  think  the 
widow^'s  son  is  a  beautiful  story,  but  there  is 


CHRIST  RAISING  THE  WIDOw's  SON.  83 

another  I  like  very  much.  About  the  ruler's 
daughter." 

Oh  yes,"  said  Dora,  "  I  know  about  that. 
I  do  not  remenaber  it  in  the  Bible,  but  it  was 
in  a  book  papa  gave  me  last  Christmas.  They 
called  her  name  Mary,  although  it  is  said  there 
was  no  name  given  to  her  in  the  Bible,  only 
she  lived  in  the  same  country  with  the  Saviour's 
mother,  and  her  name  was  Mary.  Then  she 
grew  very  ill  indeed.  Her  father  went  for  a 
new  physician  they  had  heard  about,  who  could 
cure  people  by  speaking  to  them  or  touching 
them. 

"But  she  was  dead  before  they  got  to  the 
house,  and  every  one  was  crying  so  much! 
But  the  Saviour  put  them  all  out  of  the  room, 
and  took  hold  of  her  hand,  and  told  her  to  arise. 
And  she  did,  and  was  well  at  once." 

"When  I  was  in  Philadelphia,  with  my  fa- 
ther," said  Henry,  "I  saw  a  picture  which  re- 
presented this  story.  Then  another  day  we 
went  to  a  strange  building,  called  a  hospital. 
It  had  high  brick  walls  all  around  it,  and  a 
statue  of  William  Penn  stood  in  the  garden. 
But  they  took  us  to  a  room  separate  from  the 


84       CHRIST  RAISING  THE  WIDOw's  SON. 


rest  of  the  house,  and  there  was  a  great  picture, 
as  long  as  the  side  of  this  room.  There  were 
people  in  it  as  large  as  living  people,  and  it 
was  called  'Healing  tlie  Sick.'  There  was  our 
Saviour  with  a  great  many  sick  people  around 
him,  and  he  was  curing  them." 
^  ''Who  painted  it,  Henry?"  asked  Lewis, 
w^ho  was  always  very  much  interested  when 
pictures  were  mentioned. 

Henry  could  not  remember,  but  Mrs.  Elliott 
told  them  it  was  a  very  celebrated  artist,  Ben- 
jamin West,  and  that  he  had  sent  the  paint- 
ing from  England,  as  a  present  to  the  hos- 
pital. 

"  Is  there  not  another  story,  quite  as  interest- 
ing?" she  asked,  when  Henry  had  described 
the  picture  as  well  as  he  could  remember  it. 

"  Oh,  you  mean  Lazarus,"  said  Carrie.  "  1 
like  that  quite  as  well  as  any  of  them.  Because 
Lazarus  was  the  friend  of  Jesus,  and  so  he  must 
have  been  a  good  man.  And  his  sisters  loved 
him  so  much.    Shall  I  go  on,  mamma?" 

"Yes,  my  dear?" 

"  Well,  after  he  had  been  buried  two  or  three 
days,  Jesus  came,  and  Martha  and  Mary  went 


CHRIST  RAISING  THE  WIDOW 's  SON.  85 


with  him  to  the  grave.    It  was  there  that  the 
shortest  verse  in  the  Bible  is— 
'  Jesus  wept,^ 

"Then  he  said,  ^Lazarus,  come  forth!'  and 
his  dead  friend  came  to  hfe  again,  and  made 
his  sisters  so  happy!" 

"I  don't  see  how  any  one  could  l^ave  doubted 
who  our  Saviour  was,  do  you,  mamma?"  said 
Lewis. 

"But  many  did,"  replied  Mrs.  Elliott,  "as 
we  shall  find  in  our  next  lesson.  I  think  Lewis, 
as  he  is  our  little  historian,  must  take  the  next 
picture." 


THE  NINTH  PICTUHE. 


THE  TRIBUTE  MONEY. 

Lewis  was  seen  to  be  very  busy  the  next  week 
w^ith  quite  a  pile  of  books,  which  his  father  had 
loaned  him. 

Dora  had  the  curiosity  to  look  at  the  names 
of  them ;  but  instead  of  nice  stories,  she  found 
only  dry  histories  of  the  Jews  and  Romans. 

''What  can  Lewis  want,  to  be  studying  in 
vacation  for?"  said  she.  ''I  should  think  he 
could  have  enough  of  that  at  schooL  They 
have  to  go  back  again  in  two  weeks,  and  I 
think  that 's  bad  enough." 

Lewis  smiled,  and  said,  with  a  great  deal  of 
importance,  ''You'll  see  next  Sunday,  girls." 

So  Dora's  curiosity  being  excited,  she  was 

^  ♦  '  (86) 


THE  TRIBUTE  MONEY. 


87 


quite  anxious  for  Sunday  to  come.  Besides, 
she  did  not  dread  it  as  much  now  as  she  had 
done.  She  Hked  going  to  church,  because  the 
clergyman  talked  so  plainly  that  she  could  un- 
derstand him.  The  walk  home  over  the  fields 
was  always  pleasant;  and  then  the  delightful 
lesson  at  home,  which  was  a  great  deal  plea- 
santer  now  that  she  had  learned  to  value  it.  I 
think  the  reason  so  many  children  get  tired  of 
Sunday,  is  because  they  are  idle.  Time  un- 
employed is  always  wearisome.  Because  bois- 
terous play  is  not  thought  to  be  proper  for  the 
sacred  day  of  rest,  children  seem  to  think  no- 
thing can  be  done.  But  idleness  i»  almost  as 
much  a  sin  as  play,  and  there  are  suitable  em- 
ployments for  Sundays  as  well  as  week  days. 

If  children  would  go  to  Sunday-school  as 
cheerfully  as  to  their  daily  lessons,  and  try  to 
fix  their  minds  upon  the  sermon,  instead  of 
letting  their  thoughts  wander  off  to  other  things, 
I  don't  think  Sunday  would  be  tiresome  at  all. 
At  any  rate,  Dora  began  to  like  it  much  better, 
and  to  look  forward  to  it  with  pleasure. 

The  picture  for  the  ninth  Sunday  was  called 
The  Tribute  Money."    Fannie  did  not  think 


88 


THE  TRIBUTE  MONEY. 


it  at  all  interesting,  and  Dora  did  not  under- 
stand it.  There  was  only  the  figure  of  Christ, 
surrounded  by  grave  and  stern-looking  old  men. 
They  were  standing  in  the  temple,  and  one  of 
them  was  holding  something  in  his  hands, 
which  he  was  showing  to  the  Saviour. 

"  The  girls  do  not  seem  to  understand  this 
scene,"  said  Mrs.  Elliott ;  "  so,  Lewis,  we  will 
hear  how  you  can  explain  it.  Tell  them,  in 
the  first  place,  how  these  men  came  to  be  talk- 
ing with  our  Saviour.  Or,  perhaps,  you  had 
better  show  how  the  Jews  were  governed  in 
those  days." 

Lewis  ^had  chosen  to  write  his  description,  as 
Henry  had  done,  so  he  began  to  read  the  fol- 
lowing little  history : 

They  were  not  independent  any  longer. 
Though  they  had  been  so  proud  and  noble 
under  King  David  and  Solomon,  they  were 
afterwards  more  wicked,  and  to  punish  them, 
God  allowed  other  nations  to  conquer  them. 
Once,  a  great  many  were  carried  away  captive 
by  Nebuchadnezzar,  and  then  they  were  obhged 
to  live  there  in  Babylon.  Afterwards,  Darius, 
who  was  tlien  king  of  Babylon,  allowed  them 


THE  TRIBUTE  MONEY.  89 

to  go  back  again,  and  build  up  the  temple  that 
Nebuchadnezzar  had  burned.  But  they  were 
never  very  prosperous  again.  Several  different 
nations  made  war  upon  them,  and  were  often 
successful. 

"  About  the  time  our  Saviour  was  born,  the 
Romans  claimed  the  right  of  governing  them  ; 
for  Judea,  the  countiy  where  they  lived,  had 
become  a  Roman  province.  The  name  of  the 
king  of  Rome  was  Caesar  Augustus;  but  he 
sent  them  a  king  called  Herod.  It  was  the 
Herod  we  have  read  about,  who  killed  all  the 
little  children. 

"The  Jews  did  not  submit  to  this  veiy 
quietly.    But  they  remembered  what  had  been 
promised  to  them.    A  Messiah,  who  should 
rule  the  world.    They  supposed  he  would  be 
agreatprmce;  and  looking  for  him,  to  make 
their  nation  what  it  had  been,  they  tried  to  be 
as  patient  as  they  could.    They  were  obliged 
to  pay  tribute  to  the  Roman  government,  some- 
thing as  the  people  of  America  were  taxed  by 
the  English,  before  the  Revolutionary  war 
This  troubled  them  very  much,  because  they 
thought  It  was  unjust. 


90 


THE  TRIBUTE  MONEY. 


"Mamma  lent  me  a  book,  in  which  it  was 
said  that  the  Jews  were,  from  the  first,  angry  at 
our  Saviour  for  claiming  to  be  this  Messiah. 
If  he  had  been  a  rich  man,  it  w^ould  have  been 
different.  They  wanted  an  earthly  prince,  that 
could  break  the  Roman  yoke.  They  could  not 
help  hearing  about  Jesus  and  his  many  miracles, 
but  because  he  w^as  the  son  of  a  poor  carpenter, 
they  despised  him.  Still,  a  great  many  of  the 
people  did  believe  in  the  Saviour,  and  that  trou- 
bled them.  They  w^anted  him  out  of  the  way. 
It  was  a  constant  insult  to  their  ears,  to  hear  a 
man,  who  had  been  born  so  humbly,  call  him- 
self their  superior. 

"He  came  very  openly  into  the  Temple  after 
a  while,  and  preached  there.  Then  they  used 
to  listen,  and  '  take  counsel  among  themselves' 
how^  to  get  some  charge  against  him,  that  they 
might  imprison  him,  or  kill  him.  But  they 
could  not  find  any.  At  last,  they  came  to  him 
one  day,  and  thought  they  had  a  plot  nicely 
arranged.  If  they  could  only  get  him  to  say 
something  disrespectful  about  the  Roman  king, 
they  knew  he  would  be  severely  punished,  if 
not  killed. 


THE  TRIBUTE  MONEY. 


91 


"  They  sent  some  of  their  most  learned  men, 
who  began  by  trying  to  blind  our  Saviour  about 
their  intentions.  They  pretended  to  have  a 
great  deal  of  reverence  for  him  and  his  opinion. 
They  called  him  Master,  and  said,  '  We  know 
that  thou  art  true^  and  teachest  the  ways  of  God 
with  truth, ^ 

''After  all  this,  they  asked  what  was  his  opi- 
nion. Was  it  lawful  — that  is,  right  — to  pay 
this  tribute  money  to  Caesar  ? 

"I  suppose  they  hoped  he  would  answer 
them  that  it  was  not  right,  and  then  the  Roman 
soldiers  could  have  called  it  treason.  But 
Jesus  knew  what  they  wanted.  He  said  to 
them — 

'Why  tempt  ye  me,  ye  hypocrites!  Show 
me  the  tribute  money, 

''  On  the  coins  they  used  in  old  times,  it  was 
the  custom  to  have  the  head  of  the  king  or  em- 
peror then  reigning.  Some  of  the  English  coins 
are  so  still ;  but  as  we  American  people  have 
no  king,  the  head  of  liberty  answers  instead. 
Papa  told  me  this. 

"  So,  on  the  piece  of  money  which  the  old 
man  is  showing  to  the  Saviour  there  was  a  head 


92 


THE  TRIBUTE  MONEY. 


of  Caesar.  As  soon  as  Jesus  saw  it,  he  said, 
'  Whose  is  this  image  ?' 

They  could  do  nothing  but  tell  him  it  was 
Caesar's. 

So  he  had  his  answer  all  ready,  as  he  had 
for  Satan,  when  Satan  tempted  him.    He  said, 

'  Render  unto  Ccesar  the  things  that  are 
Ccesar'^s^  and  unto  God  the  things  that  are 
God's:'' 

"  Oh,  now^  I  understand  that,"  said  Carrie; 
''and  I  never  knew  before  how^  they  could 
tempt  the  Saviour,  by  asking  him  that  question. 
I  did  not  think  it  would  be  \vicked  to  answer 
it  any  way  he  had  chosen.  Besides,  I  never 
knew  what  Caesar  had  to  do  with  the  Jews, 
w^hen  Herod  was  their  king." 

"How"  much  easier  things  are,  when  you  un- 
derstand them!"  said  Fannie.  A  remark  that 
made  them  all  laugh,  for  they  certainly  had 
found  it  so.  However,  they  concluded  that 
Lewis  had  made  the  tribute  money  interesting, 
after  all. 

"Did  they  go  away  then,  and  not  tease  the 
Saviour  any  more  ?"  asked  Dora. 

"No;  they  asked  a  great  many  more  ques- 
tions, Dora." 


THE  TRIBUTE  MONEY. 


93 


Tell  us  some  of  them,?'  said  Mrs.  Elliott. 

"  Well,  there  was  one  about  being  married, 
which  I  did  not  read  very  carefully,  so  I  don't 
remember  much  about  it.  But  there  was  a 
lawyer  who  came  to  him,  and  asked  what  was 
the  greatest,  or  the  most  important  law?  I 
suppose  he  meant  in  the  Ten  Commandments. 
Did  he  mamma?" 

"  Oh,  yes,  it  must  have  been,  from  the  an- 
swer," said  Henry.      I  know  what  it  is— 

"  'Thou  shalt  love  the  Lord  thy  God  with  all 
thy  heart,  and  with  all  thy  soul,  and  with  all 
thy  mind, 

'  This  is  the  first  and  great  commandment,'^ " 
''But  there  was  more  than  that  about  the 

second,"  said  Lewis. 

'^'Thou  shalt  love  thy  neighbour  as  thyself. 

On  these  two  commandments  hang  all  the  lata 

and  the  prophet s,'^^ 

"What  does  that  mean,  aunt  Margaret?" 

asked  Dora.      Hangs  all  the  law  and  the  pro- 

phets  ?" 

If  we  loved  God  with  all  our  hearts,  we 
should  not  make  any  graven  images,  and  have 
any  God  but  him,  should  we?    And  then  it 


94  THE  TRIBUTE  MONEY. 

would  be  a  pleasure  to  keep  the  Sabbath-day 
holy,  consecrated  to  his  use.  We  should  not 
dream  of  doing  differently. 

"  There  are  two  of  the  commandments  ful- 
filled. Then  if  we  loved  our  neighbour  as 
ourselves,  we  should  be  just  as  careful  of  the 
happiness  of  any  one  as  of  our  own, 

"  So  we  should  honour  our  father  and  mo- 
ther, because  if  we  neglected  or  despised  them, 
they  would  be  sad.  We  should  not  kill,  or 
steal,  or  be  envious,  or  lie ;  because  in  doing 
either,  some  one  would  be  injured  —  and  we 
never  hurt  ourselves  intentionally,  do  we  ?" 

"I  remember  a  text  about  that,"  said  Henry. 
"  It  means  just  the  same  thing,  I  should  think. 

^Love  worketk  no  ill  to  his  neighbour — 
therefore  love  is  the  fulfilling  of  the  law,'^  " 

"  Yes,  that  expresses  it,  exactly,"  said  Mrs. 
Elliott ;  "  and  this  reminds  me  of  the  little 
poem  Fannie  and  Carrie  used  to  like  so  much. 
I  found  it  for  them  one  day  in  a  newspaper, 
and  they  learned  it  to  recite  to  their  papa. 
Have  you  forgotten  it,  Carrie  ?" 

"  Fannie  Farleigh's  little  song  ?  Oh,  no, 
mamma,  I  never  could  forget  that,  it  is  so 


THE  TRIBUTE  MONEY. 


95 


very  pretty.  Shall  we  say  it  for  Dora  and  the 
boys?" 

Dora  thought  she  should  like  it ;  and  as  the 
lesson  was  through,  the  sisters  repeated — 

"little  children,  love  one  another." 

A  little  girl,  with  a  happy  look, 
Sat  slowly  reading  a  ponderous  book, 
All  bound  with  velvet,  and  edged  with  gold; 
And  its  weight  was  more  than  the  child  could  hold. 
Yet  dearly  she  loved  to  ponder  it  o'er, 
And  every  day  she  prized  it  more; 
For  it  said— and  she  looked  at  her  smiling  mother- 
It  said  —  ^Little  children,  love  one  another.'* 

She  thought  it  was  beautiful  in  the  book, 
And  the  lesson  home  to  her  heart  she  took; 
.  She  walked  on  her  way  with  a  trusting  grace, 
And  a  dove-like  look  in  her  meek  young  face, 
Which  said,  just  as  plain  as  words  could  say,' 
*^The  Holy  Bible  I  must  obey; 
So,  mamma,  I'll  be  kind  to  my  darling  brother— 
For  ^Little  children  must  love  each  other. ^ 

''I'm  sorry  he's  naughty,  and  will  not  play; 
But  I  '11  love  him  still,  for  I  think  the  way 
To  make  him  gentle  and  kind  to  me, 
Will  be  better  shown  if  I  let  him  see 


THE  TRIBUTE  MONEY. 


I  strive  to  do  what  I  think  is  right; 
And  thus,  when  we  kneel  in  prayer  to-night, 
I  will  clasp  my  arms  about  my  brother. 
And  say — ^Little  children,  love  one  another.'' 

The  little  girl  did  as  her  Bible  taught, 

And  pleasant,  indeed,  was  the  change  it  wrought; 

For  the  boy  looked  up,  in  glad  surprise, 

To  meet  the  light  of  her  loving  eyes ; 

His  heart  was  full — and  he  could  not  speak  — 

But  he  pressed  a  kiss  on  his  sister's  cheek; 

And  God  looked  down  on  the  happy  mother, 

Whose  ^Little  children  loved  each  other.'' 


THE  TENTH 


PICTURE, 


CHRIST  PRAYING  ON  THE  MOUNT. 

"After  the  scene  of  the  '  Tribute  Money,' "  said 
Mrs.  Elliott,  the  next  time  they  were  assembled 
in  her  room,  "  the  Jews  questioned  our  Saviour 
no  more.    But  they  were  not  satisfied.  Every- 
thing showed  their  jealousy  of  him.    And  they 
had  reason  to  be  afraid  of  his  influence  upon 
the  people.    Every  miracle  increased  the  num- 
ber  of  his  disciples.    When  he  cured  the  leper, 
many  praised  his  wonderful  works.  Those  who 
saw  the  widow's  son  brought  to  life,  acknow- 
iedged,  as  we  found  last  Sunday,  that  God  had 
come  to  visit  his  people.    At  last  we  have  the 
final  miracle  recorded  by  Saint  John,  which  we 
G  (97) 


98         CHRIST  PRAYING  ON  THE  MOUNT. 


have  also  talked  about,  and  that  is  raising  Laza- 
rus from  the  dead. 

Lazarus  had  been  his  friend  and  compa- 
nion. It  is  most  probable  that  others  beside 
our  Saviour  had  loved  him,  for  when  he  died, 
many  of  the  Jews  came  to  comfort  the  sisters. 
They  went  with  them  to  the  grave  where  he 
w-as  buried,  and  stood  by  when  Jesus  w^ept. 

"  It  is  not  wonderful  that  when  they  saw  their 
buried  friend  come  among  them  once  more, 
brought  to  life  by  the  voice  of  the  Saviour,  that 
some  of  the  company  should  believe  he  was 
more  than  the  impostor  which  many  had  repre- 
sented him  to  be.  Doubtless  the  strange  oc- 
currence was  talked  about  in  every  quarter  of 
the  city.  The  Bible  tells  us  that  many  of  these 
Jews  went  to  the  Pharisees,  and  told  them  what 
had  been  done. 

The  rulers  only  saw  in  this  a  stronger  power 
to  dread.  They  must  have  been  alarmed,  for 
they  called  a  council  at  once,  to  see  what  could 
be  done  to  check  the  spread  of  these  new  opi- 
nions. They  somehow  fancied  them  connected 
with  their  enemies  the  Romans,  and  feared  their 
country  would  be  still  more  oppressed  by  them. 


CHRIST  PRAYING  ON  THE  MOUNT.  99 


The  high  priest  was  the  most  bitter  of  all 
in  the  council.  He  said  it  was  better  to  have 
one  man  die,  than  the  whole  nation  to  perish. 
And  so  without  knowing  what  he  did,  he  pro- 
phesied that  Jesus  should  die  that  year,  to  save 
the  Jewish  nation ;  and  as  St.  John  immediately 
says,  not  that  nation  only,  but  all  people  that 
he  should  gather  to  himself. 

''It  is  likely  that  the  friends  of  our  Saviour 
warned  him  of  these  plots  against  his  life.  At 
any  rate  he  must  have  known  from  the  first,  all 
that  they  said  about  him.  So  he  left  those 
places  where  he  should  be  most  exposed  to 
danger,  not  that  he  was  afraid,  or  dreaded  death, 
but  the  time  had  not  come  for  him  to  redeem 
the  world. 

"But  the  feast  of  the  Passover  was  neai, 
when,  as  we  learned  some  weeks  ago,  all  the 
Jews  went  up  to  the  temple  to  worship.  How 
different  was  this  anniversary  from  the  one  of 
which  we  first  read.  Then  he  was  young,  and 
strong.  He  heard  of  the  preparations  for  the 
journey  with  a  heart  foil  of  glad  anticipations. 
It  was  a  festival  in  which  his  parents  and  his 
friends  were  united.  He  journeyed  in  company 


100       CHRIST  PRAYING  ON  THE  MOUNT. 

with  them,  and  looked  eagerly  forward  to  the 
time  when  he  should  stand  in  his  father's  house. 
It  was  there  he  commenced  the  labours  of  his 
life.  The  long  discussion  with  the  doctors  in 
the  temple  was  the  first  of  his  public  ministry. 

"  Now  he  was  weary  and  toil  worn  ;  '  a  man 
of  sorrows,  and  acquainted  with  grief.'  He 
knew  not  even  where  to  lay  his  head.  A  few 
faithful  disciples  clung  to  him,  but  he  was  des- 
pised and  rejected  by  those  for  whom  he  was 
going  to  lay  down  his  life.  He  was  persecuted 
by  the  rulers,  and  hated  by  many  of  the  people. 
His  task  was  nearly  accomphshed  ;  he  was  al- 
ready contemplating  a  bitter  death,  instead  of  a 
joyful  meeting  with  friends  and  kindred,  when 
he  should  go  up  to  Jerusalem. 

The  Jews  were  not  idle.  They  hoped  he 
would  return  to  the  city,  and  as  they  came  to- 
gether in  the  temple,  they  talked  about  it  among 
themselves.  At  last  a  proclamation  was  issued, 
that  if  any  one  knew  where  he  was,  he  must  be 
delivered  up  to  them. 

But  even  this  did  not  shake  the  purpose  of 
the  Saviour.  He  went  steadily  on  his  way,  and 
when  the  time  drew  near,  arrived  at  Bethany, 


CHRIST  PRAYING  ON  THE  MOUNT.  101 


which  was  not  far  from  the  city.  It  wns  here 
that  Lazarus  and  his  sisters  Hved.  No  doubt 
they  were  very  happy  to  see  their  friend  again. 
They  made  him  a  great  supper,  and  it  was  while 
they  sat  at  this  supper,  that  Mary  bathed  the 
feet  of  the  Saviour  with  precious  ointment,  and 
wiped  them  with  her  long,  beautiful  hair,  to 
testify  how  much  she  loved  him,  and  how  grate- 
ful she  should  ever  be. 

"And  now  another  person  is  presented  to  us 
who  has  a  great  part  in  the  history  of  Carist's 
anguish  and  death.  Do  you  know  who  I  mean, 
Henry?" 

"  I  think  it  must  be  Judas,  Mrs.  ElKott,  be- 
cause I  remember  when  this  happened,  Judas 
objected  to  it,  and  scolded  Mary  for  wasting  so 
much." 

"  I  recollect  about  that,"  said  Lewis.  He 
said  it  ought  to  have  been  sold,  and  the  money 
given  to  the  poor." 

"  Well,  I 'm  sure  that  was  very  kind  and 
good  in  him;  don't  you  think  so,  aunt?"  said 
Dora. 

" I 'm  afraid  not,  my  dear." 

"No,  I'm  sure  it  wasn't,"  said  Lewis. 


102       CHRIST  PBAYING  ON  THE  MOUNT. 

"Because  it  says  right  afterwards,  that  he  did 
not  care  one  bit  for  the  poor,  only  the  disciples 
had  all  their  money  in  one  purse,  and  Judas 
carried  it,  and  he  was  a  thief.  So  if  all  this 
money  had  been  put  in  his  care,  he  could  have 
helped  himself.  Don't  you  see,  Dora?  There  s 
a  boy  at  our  school  we  call  Judas,  sometimes ; 
don't  we,  Henry  >    Tom  Lathrop,  I  mean." 

"My  dear  son,"  said  Mrs.  Elliott,  "I  am 
sorry  to  hear  you  could  call  any  of  your  play- 
fellows by  such  an  ill  name.  I'm  sure  none 
of  them  are  thieves,  or  Dr.  Porter  would  not 
allow  them  to  remain  in  school." 

"Oh,  it's  only  for  fun,"  answered  Lewis, 
"  and  it  teazes  him  so !"  ^ 
" '  Love  toorketh  no  ill  to  his  neighbour, 
returned  Mrs.  Elliott,  quietly,  and  Lewis  blushed, 
and  did  not  offer  to  excuse  himself,  for  he  knew 
it  was  not  "fulfilling  the  law,"  to  be  rude  or 
unkind  to  his  schoolmates. 

"  Shall  we  go  on  with  the  lesson  ?"  said  Mrs. 
EUiott.  "  And  then  we  shall  find  that  the  Sa- 
viour reproved  Judas,  by  saying  that  she  had 
anointed  him  for  his  burial." 

"That's  what  you  explained  to  us  one  day 


CHRIST  PRAYING  ON  THE  MOUNT.  103 

in  the  'Antiquities,'  is  it  not,  mamma?"  asked 
Carrie.  In  old  times,  when  any  one  died,  their 
friends  spent  a  great  deal  in  these  precious  per- 
fumes, to  use  about  the  body." 

Yes,  it  was  that  custom  which  our  Saviour 
meant,  and  though  it  is  probable  the  rest  did 
not  understand  what  he  said,  he  knew  very  well 
what  was  to  befall  him.  That  it  was  the  last 
time  he  should  sit  at  this  hospitable  table,  sur- 
rounded by  those  who  loved  him.  He  bade 
them  farewell,  when  his  visit  was  ended,  and 
went  sadly  on  his  way ;  but  many  had  been 
w^on  to  him  on  this  visit,  because  it  was  told  in 
Bethany  that  the  wonderful  man  who  had  raised 
Lazarus  from  the  dead  was  there,  and  they 
flocked  to  see  what  he  could  be  like.  A  great 
many  followed  him  when  he  went  away,  and 
turned  towards  Jerusalem. 

"  It  was  a  part  of  this  company  who  cut  down 
the  palm  branches,  and  strewed  them  in  the 
way.  They  cried,  'Hosanna,  blessed  is  he 
that  Cometh  in  the  name  of  the  Lord.'  You 
have  all  of  you  seen  a  picture  in  which  this  is 
represented,  called  '  Christ's  entry  into  Jerusa- 
lem. ' 


Jl 


104       CHRIST  PRAYING  ON  THE  MOUNT. 

"  The  people  who  wished  his  death  w^ere 
more  angry  than  ever  at  this,  as  you  may  sup- 
pose. And  Jesus  seemed  to  feel  how  much 
greater  w^as  his  peril,  for  he  began  to  talk  to 
those  around  him  of  his  death.  And  it  was 
much  nearer  than  they  could  have  thought  it. 
Already  there  was  a  plot  between  Judas  and 
some  of  those  men  w^ho  were  most  violent 
against  our  Saviour,  for  the  love  of  money  had 
become  a  sin  in  this  false  disciple's  heart,  and 
to  gain  it,  he  would  even  consent  to  betray  one 
whom  he  called  '  Master.' 

^'  There  was  one  night  at  the  commencement 
of  the  feast  of  the  Passover,  w^hich  the  disciples 
never  forgot.  They  were  all  sitting  together  at 
supper,  and  when  it  was  ended,  our  Saviour 
rose  and  arranged  his  dress,  as  though  he  were 
a  servant.  In  the  East  there  was '  more  need 
of  servants  than  here,  because  their  manners 
and  customs  were  different,  and  it  w^as  much 
more  trouble  to  take  care  of  the  house  and  the 
family.  For  one  thing,  they  did  not  w^ear  tight 
shoes,  as  we  do,  but  sandals,  which  w^re  bound 
across  the  instep,  leaving  the  foot  bare,  and  ex- 
posed to  the  dust  and  heat  in  travelling.    So  it 


CHRIST  PRAYING  ON  THE  MOUNT.  105 


was  an  almost  necessary  custom  to  set  water 
before  visitors,  that  they  might  bathe  their  feet, 
and  often  a  servant  was  sent  to  do  this  for  their 
favourite  guests. 

''After  our  Saviour  had  laid  aside  his  robes, 
he  took  water  and  washed  the  feet  of  his  disci- 
ples, to  teach  them  a  lesson  of  humility.  They 
were  very  much  astonished  at  this,  in  one  whom 
they  called  Master,  but  it  was  a  lesson  not 
only  to  them,  but  to  all  Christians,  to  be  humble 
and  affable  one  to  another.  I  am  afraid  many 
forget  this,  as  they  roll  by  in  their  rich  carriages, 
and  look  contemptuously  on  the  poor  whom 
they  pass. 

"It  was  after  Jesus  had  explained  this  to 
them,  that  he  said,  '  one  of  you  shall  betray 
me.'  No  wonder  they  could  scarcely  believe 
it  possible  they  had  heard  aright,  when  he  had 
just  been  serving  them  so  kindly.  But  Judas 
knew,  and  before  long  went  out  from  them,  for 
his  cruel  purpose. 

''Then  our  Saviour  was  alone  with  those 
whom  he  loved  so  dearly.  They  had  been  with 
him  in  want,  and  trial,  and  temptation.  But  a 
greater  trial  than  all  was  to  come,  and  he  wished 


106       CHRIST  PRAYING  ON  THE  MOUNT. 


to  prepare  them  for  it.  He  talked  with  them  a 
long  time,  gravely  and  kindly.  Then  he  prayed, 
the  most  beautiful  prayer  on  record,  and  com- 
mended them,  and  all  who  should  love  him  to 
the  end  of  the  world,  unto  the  care  of  the  Father 
he  had  come  to  glorify. 

Solemnly  and  silently  they  went  forth  from 
the  room,  where  they  had  eaten  together  for  the 
last  time.  The  lamb  was  to  be  slain,  but  it 
was  ^the  Lamb  of  God,  who  taketh  away  the 
sin  of  the  world.'  It  was  almost  midnight  as 
they  went  out  of  the  city,  and  crossing  the  brook 
Kedron,  came  to  the  Mount  of  Olives. 

Here  he  left  them  for  a  little  while,  bidding 
them  pray  that  they  might  not  enter  into  temp- 
tation, for  he  knew  they  would  need  much 
strength  to  bear  what  was  before  them.  This 
was  in  the  garden  of  Gethsemane,  where  he 
turned  away  and  left  them.  It  was  then  he 
began  to  sink  beneath  the  prospect  of  the  pain 
and  anguish  which  was  before  him.  He  knelt 
on  the  rough  ground,  with  the  cold  dews  of 
night  falling  on  his  uncovered  head,  and  said, 
'  my  soul  is  sorrowful  even  unto  death.'  The 
whole  world  lay  spread  before  him  in  repose, 


CHRIST  PRAYING  ON  THE  MOUNT.  107 

even  his  own  followers  slept;  he  was  alone  in  the 
bitterness  of  his  sorrow.  But  he  bowed  meekly 
to  the  will  of  his  Father.  He  had  come  to  seek 
and  save  that  which  was  lost ;  and  though  one 
wish  would  have  released  him  from  his  suSer- 
ings,  and  surrounded  him  by  an  angel  host,  he 
would  not  go  from  earth  until  his  mission  was 
flilfilled. 

'  Thy  will,  not  mine,  be  done,'  he  said,  as 
.the  great  drops  of  agony  rolled  from  his  uplifted 
face,  and  ministering  angels  stood  by  in  sorrow, 
to  see  the  Lord  of  heaven  '  in  earthly  need.'  " 

Mrs.  Elliott  had  become  so  much  interested 
in  the  subject,  that  she  had  forgotten  until  now 
to  give  the  children  the  picture  which  she  held 
in  her  hand.  They  looked  at  it  in  silence,  for 
it  represented  the  scene  which  she  had  just  de- 
scribed. The  cold,  steep  mountain,  the  uplift- 
ed, agonized  face  of  the  Saviour,  and  the  hover- 
ing angels,  with  their  white  and  shining  wings, 
looking  as  if  they  would  fain  offer  to  comfort 
him. 


THE  ELEVENTH  PICTURE. 


CHRIST  CROWNED  WITH  THORNS. 

The  boys'  vacation  was  coming  to  a  close. 
Their  visit  had  been  delightful,  and  they 
thought  Oatlands  was  pleasanter  than  ever,  now 
that  they  must  go  from  it.  The  country  was 
certainly  very  pleasant,  and  the  walks  were 
more  lovely,  because  of  the  many  flowers  that 
were  opening  in  the  woods  and  fields.  But 
the  one  that  interested  them  most  of  all,  was 
the  passion-flower,  that  was  brought  from  the 
hot-house  in  a  vase,  and  crept  about  the  trellis 
of  the  piazza  which  opened  from  Mrs.  Elliott's 
room. 

There  were  several  buds  nearly  opened,  and 
they  watched  them  with  a  great  deal  of  interest. 

(108) 


CHRIST  CROWNED   WITH  THORNS.  109 

^'Let  us  go  and  see  if  the  passion-flowers  are 
out,"  said  Carrie,  one  morning,  as  they  rose 
from  the  breakfast-table. 

Well,  just  wait  till  I  finish  about  Tom  La- 
throp,"  called  out  Lewis,  who  was  narrating 
some  school  adventure  for  the  benefit  of  his 
sisters.  You  know!  told  you  he  struck  me, 
so  I  w^asn't  going  to  be  mean  enough  to  put  up 
with  that,  of  course." 

"  Oh,  you  didn't  fight,  Lewis !"  said  Carrie. 

"  Why,  I  don't  know  as  you  '11  call  it  fight- 
ing, exactly.  He  struck  me,  because  I  would 
not  give  up  a  black-board  I  had  the  best  right 
to,  and  I  knocked  him  down,  that 's  all." 

"  You  naughty,  wicked  boy !"  It  was  Dora 
who  said  this,  for  she  was  quite  indignant  that 
her  favourite  cousin  Lewis  should  do  anything 
she  was  sure  his  mother  would  disapprove  of. 

It  was  n't  my  fault,  Dora !  I  was  n't  going 
to  stand  still,  and  let  him  crow  over  me.  Who 
wouldn't  strike  back  again,  I 'd  like  to  know? 
It 's  all  fair,  if  some  one  strikes  you  first." 

'^I  shall  ask  aunt  if  you  were  right,  and  I 
know  she  will  not  say  yes.  I  shall  ask  her  to- 
morrow, when  we  have  our  Bible  lesson." 


110        CHRIST  CROWNED  WITH  THORNS. 

"Well,  don't  let  us  talk  any  more  about  it 
now,"  said  Fannie,  who  had  not  heard  what 
was  going  on,  and  only  knew  Lewis  seemed  to 
be  in  disgrace  about  something.  "  Let  us  go 
and  see  about  the  passion-flower ;  for  we  have 
no  lessons  to-day,  and  we  can  have  a  nice  talk 
with  mamma.  Only  think!  It 's  the  last  Satur- 
day you  boys  will  be  here !" 

So  they  followed  Fannie's  advice,  and  let  the 
story  about  Tom  Lathrop  rest,  while  they  went 
to  Mrs.  Elliott's  room.  They  found  her  much 
better  than  usual,  and,  indeed,  their  physician 
began  to  hope  that  she  might  recover,  after  all. 
Cousin  Jane  wheeled  the  easy-chair  out  into 
the  piazza;  but,  alas!  there  was  no  flower,  not 
even  a  large  bud  upon  the  vine.  Its  bright 
leaves  were  broken  and  crushed,  and  the  whole 
plant  lay  trailing  upon  the  floor,  as  if  some  one 
had  torn  it  down  and  trampled  on  it. 

Who  could  it  have  been  ?  they  all  wondered ; 
until  at  last  it  was  remembered  that  Leo,  the 
great  Newfoundland  dog  we  had  forgotten  to 
introduce  you  to,  had  been  shut  up  on  the 
piazza  the  last  evening,  and  he  had  probably 
amused  himself  by  tearing  the  most  valuable 
thing  within  reach. 


CHRIST  CROWNED  WITH  THORNS.  Ill 

There  was  a  great  lamentation,  as  you  may 
suppose.    But  cousin  Jane  gathered  up  the 
pliant  tendrils,  and  found  there  was  not  so 
much  mischief  done,  after  all.     There  were 
several  small  buds  to  be  found;  and  Mrs.  Elliott 
said  she  thought,  with  a  litde  nursing,  the  vine 
would  be  as  strong  as  ever  in  a  few  days.  To 
make  amends  for  their  disappointment,  Mrs.  - 
Elliott  proposed  that  they  should  go  on  with  the 
portfolio,  so  as  to  finish  the  history  of  Christ's 
death  and  sufferings  before  the  boys  left.  Dora 
and  Lewis  were  at  first  disposed  to  object  to 
this.    They  considered  it  lessons,  and  thought 
they  ought  to  have  all  day  Saturday  for  amuse- 
ment.   But  when  Mrs.  Elliott  said  they  could  • 
go  away  and  play,  if  they  liked,  since  the 
rest  were  in  favour  of  the  portfolio,  they  very 
gladly  seated  themselves  near  her,  and,  I  am 
happy  to  say,  were  quite  as  attentive  as  the 
rest. 

"  I  think  I  had  better  go  on  with  the  pic- 
tures," said  Mrs.  Elliott.  There  is  much  to 
be  said  that  you  do  not  remember.  I  am  afraid 
none  of  you  have  read  the  Bible  yet,  because  it 
was  a  pleasure  to  you.   Dora  confesses  that  she 


112 


CHKIST  CROWNED  WITH  THORNS. 


never  has ;  and  when  we  read  only  because  we 
are  obliged  to,  we  are  very  apt  to  be  inattentive, 
and  forget  as  fast  we  read.  Let  us  go  on  with 
the  subject  of  the  last  picture.  What  was  it, 
Fannie?" 

"  Christ  praying  on  the  mount,  and  the  angels 
by  him." 

"And  his  disciples  fast  asleep;  they  could 
not  keep  awake,  for  all  the  Saviour  told  them 
to,"  added  Dora. 

Yes,  that  was  where  w^e  stopped.  After  this 
earnest  and  sorrowful  prayer,  we  are  told  that 
an  angel  appeared  from  heaven,  and  strength- 
ened him.  Then  he  went  to  his  "disciples,  and 
awoke  them." 

I  should  have  thought  they  would  have 
been  very  much  ashamed.  /  wouldn't  have 
done  so,  if  I  had  been  them,"  said  Lewis. 

Mrs.  Elliott  smiled  at  the  boasting  tone  which 
he  used. 

"  When  Peter  was  told  that  our  Saviour  was 
to  be  so  tried,  he  said,  '  Though  all  men  be 
offended  because  of  thee,  yet  will  I  never  be 
offended,^  Peter  was  something  like  you,  per- 
haps, Lewis.    We  shall  see  how"  well  Peter 


CHRIST  CROWNED  WITH  THORNS.  113 


^       kept  his  word  ;  perhaps  you  would  have  acted 
just  as  he  did,  as  well  as  spoken  like  him. 

''While  the  Saviour  stood  there,  talking  with 
his  disciples,  there  was  a  great  noise,  as  if  a 
crowd  of  people  was  coming  up  the  mountain. 
Then  they  saw  torches  glaring  through  the  dark- 
ness; and  before  they  could  ask  each  other 
what  it  meant,  they  were  surrounded  with  a 
mob  of  soldiers  with  swords,  and  officers  of 
justice  with  their  staves.  Among  them  came 
Judas,  who  so  lately  had  sat  at  the  same  table 
with  the  disciples,  and  dipped  his  hand  into  the 
same  dish  with  the  Saviour.  He  was  as  bold 
in  his  wickedness,  as  he  had  once  seemed 
humble.  He  came  towards  the  Saviour,  and 
even  dared  to  kiss  him,  and  call  him  Master. 

"  This  was  the  signal  they  had  agreed  upon. 
Judas  had  said  to  the  officers,  '  We  shall  find 
him  surrounded  by  his  disciples;  but  the  one 
I  shall  kiss  will  be  the  man.'  Can  you  imagine 
anything  more  false  ?" 

"  Why,  that  was  acting  a  lie,"  said  Lewis ; 
"  because  he  pretended  to  love  the  Saviour  all 
the  while.  We  don't  kiss  people  we  don't 
love." 


H 


114       CHRIST  CRO\raED  WITH  THORNS. 


So  we  see,  as  Lewis  says,"  continued  Mrs. 
Elliott,  that  Judas  added  a  lie  to  his  treachery. 
First,  he  was  a  thief,  and  stole  the  money  that 
had  been  trusted  to  him.  What  does  the  Bible 
say  about  the  love  of  money,  Henry?" 

"  '  The  love  of  money  is  the  root  of  all  evily^  " 
answered  Henry,  readily. 

"It  would  seem  to  be  so  in  this  case.  It 
was  the  reward  offered  for  Jesus,  that  first 
tempted  him  to  give  his  Master  up  to  the  Jews, 
or  betray  him,  as  it  is  called.  Then  to  this  he 
added  the  he  of  seeming  to  be  his  friend  and 
disciple.  Do  you  think  he  could  ever  be  happy 
after  this?" 

"  Oh,  no !"  said  all  of  them. 
What  became  of  Judas  at  last,  can  you  re- 
member,  any  of  you  ?" 

"He  hung  himself,"  said  Henry. 

"How  dreadful!"  whispered  Dora,  with  a 
shudder. 

"Yes,  he  could  not  endure  the  remorse  that 
was  the  punishment  of  his  sin.  After  all  had 
happened  that  our  Saviour  had  foretold,  Judas 
cast  away  the  money  which  had  tempted  him 
to  these  crimes,  and  ended  his  life  with  the 


CHRIST  CROWNED  WITH  THORNS.  115 

worst  one  of  all— self-destruction.  His  story  is 
a  terrible  warning." 

"  Oh,  do  not  let  us  think  any  more  about  the 
wicked  man,"  said  Dora.  «  Please  go  on  with 
the  lesson,  aunt  Margaret." 

So  Mrs.  Elliott  took  up  her  Bible  again. 
_  "  We  shall  find  that  the  Saviour  did  not  re- 
sist being  led  away  prisoner,"  said  she.  "  He 
only  begged  that  his  disciples  might  be  allowed 
to  go  free.  Here  is  a  lesson  of  unselfishness, 
for  most  men  would  have  been  too  much  alarmed 
to  think  of  others." 

"But  did  they  all  go,  aunt  Margaret?" 
"No,  Dora,"  answered  Lewis,  quickly, 
"they  couldn't  aU  have  gone,  because  Peter 
took  a  sword,  and  cut  off"  the  ear  of  some  one. 
lhat  I  remember,  myself.    Peter  was  brave 
mamma!"  ' 

"  Yes,  at  first  he  seems  to  have  been ;  but  we 
are  told  'they  all  forsook  him,  and  fled  '  So 
much  for  the  friendship  of  those  who  had  fol- 
lowed him  as  long  as  he  was  in  comparative 
prosperity  Peter  followed  afar  off,  however, 
as  the  soldiers  led  Jesus  away,  their  prisoner! 
They  came  out  of  the  city  gates  silently  and 


116        CHSIST  CROWNED  WITH  THORNS. 

thoughtfully,  as  we  have  seen.  When  they  re- 
turned, our  Saviour  was  surrounded  by  a  rabble 
throne?,  who  mocked  him,  I  have  no  doubt.  For 
the  silent  prayers  that  had  ascended  in  their  little 
company,  oaths,  and  wicked  jests  arose  m  the 
still  air,  and  so  our  Saviour  was  hurried  along 
.from  street  to  street,  until  they  came  to  the 
palace  of  the  high  priest. 

"  Here  tliey  tried  to  find  people  who  would 
accuse  him  falsely,  or,  as  the  Bible  says,  'to 
bear  false  witness'  against  him.  Jesus  made 
no  answer  to  all  then  accusations.  At  last  the 
hish  priest  said,  '  ansioerest  thou  nothngV 

°"  But  still  our  Saviour  made  no  reply.  Then 
the  hio-h  priest  said  most  solemnly,  '/ ac/jwre 
thee  by  the  living  God,  that  thou  tell  us  ichether 
thou  be  the  Christ,  the  Son  of  God: 

"The  time  had  come,  and  Jesus  did  not 
hesitate  to  speak.  He  answered,  '  Thou  hast 
said  it  r  and  then  he  told  tliem,  that  humble 
and  despised  as  he  then  was,  they  should  yet 
see  him  in  power  and  great  glory,  coming  in 
the  clouds  of  heaven.  . 

"  The  hio-h  priest  cried  out  at  this,  and  said 
he  had  spoken  blasphemy.  There  was  no  more 


CHRIST  CROWNED  WITH  THORNS.  117 

need  of  witnesses,  for  all  who  were  present  had 
heard  him.  The  people  cried  out  that  he  was 
worthy  of  death,  and  some  spit  upon  him,  and 
struck  him." 

"Did  he  strike  back,  aunt.?"  said  Dora, 
eagerly.  ' 

"No,  my  dear.  Do  you  not  remember, 
Henry,  where  this  is  prophesied,  or  foretold  by 
Isaiah,  when  he  says, 

'''I  gave  my  back  to  the  smiters,  and  mv 
cheek  to  them  which  plucked  off  my  hair;  I  hid 
not  my  face  from  shame  and  spitting^ 
"  Then  again, 

"'i^e  was  wounded  for  our  transgressions, 
he  was  bruised  for  our  iniquities;  the  chastise-  . 
ment  of  our  peace  was  upon  him  ;  and  with  his 
stnpes  we  are  healed. 

"  '  He  is  brought  as  a  lamb  to  the  slaughter 
and  as  a  sheep  before  her  shearers  is  dumb,  so 
fie  opened  not  his  mouth.'  " 

Dora  did  not  say  anything,  but  she  looked 
towards  Lewis  who  seemed  very  uncomfortable, 
for  I  have  no  doubt  he  thought  of  their  previous 
conversation. 
Mrs.  Elliott  then  gave  them  the  picture.  It 


118       CHRIST  CROWNED  WITH  THORNS. 

represented  the  judgment-hall  of  Pilate,  and  our 
Saviour  standing  bound  in  the  midst  of  a  throng 
of  soldiers.    The  sentence  of  death  had  been 
pronounced.    The  long  and  cruel  examination 
was  over.    The  people  who  wished  him  dead, 
had  refused  to  let  a  robber  be  crucified  in  his 
place.    Pilate  had  delivered  the  Saviour  to 
them,  and  in  revenge  for  his  calling  himself  the 
Redeemer  that  was  to  come,  and  rule  over  the 
Jewish  nation,  they  made  him  a  crown,  and 
called  him  king  in  mockery.    They  scourged 
him  with  cruel  stripes,  they  pressed  the  sharp 
thorns  of  the  crown  into  his  pure  forehead,  add- 
ing suffering  and  pain  to  their  insults.  And 
there  he  stood  in  the  midst  of  them.  The  Lord 
of  all  the  world  ;  yet  that  he  might  save  its  in- 
habitants from  eternal  punishment,  the  vilest 
among  men.    His  hands  were  bound,  his  face 
was  downcast,    yet  he  opened  not  his  mouth'' 
to  reproach  them.    He  was  patient  amid  all 
insults  ;  and  he  bore  the  sharp  pain  of  the  lash, 
and  of  the  thorns,  without  a  murmur. 

"  Ah,  that  they  could  realize  that  this  suffer- 
ing was  borne  for  them!"  thought  Mrs.  EUiott, 
as  she  saw  the  children  crowd  around  the  pic- 
ture, with  hushed  and  eager  faces. 


CHRIST  CROWNED  WITH  THORNS.  119 

"But,  aunt  Margaret,"  said  Dora,  as  the 
picture  was  at  last  put  back  in  its  place,  "you 
did  not  tell  us  about  Peter ;  where  was  he  all 
this  time  ?" 

"  Three  times,  on  the  very  night  that  he  had 
said  he  would  lay  down  his  life  for  his  Master, 
Peter  denied  that  he  knew  anything  about  him, 
or  had  ever  seen  him.  The  last  time,  our  Sa- 
viour heard  him.  He  did  not  say  anything,  but 
he  turned  and  gave  Peter  a  look  so  sad,  so  ten- 
der, that  the  humbled  disciple  went  out  and 
wept  bitterly. 

"  I  hope  my  son  will  not  be  like  him,"  added 
Mrs.  Elliott,  as  she  took  the  hand  of  Lewis  af- 
fectionately between  her  own. 


THE  TWELFTH  PICTUEE. 


THE  TOMB  OF  CHRIST. 

^'^I  AM  very  glad,"  said  Henry  Lord,  as  they 
walked  home  from  church  next  day,  '^that  we 
did  have  that  Bible  lesson  yesterday.  Because 
now  we  shall  finish  the  history  of  Christ's  life 
before  you  and  I  go,  perhaps.  I  wonder  how 
many  more  pictures  there  are  ?" 

I  counted  more  than  twelve,"  answered 
Lewis,  ^'  once  when  mamma  gave  me  the  port- 
folio to  put  them  all  in  straight ;  but  there  can- 
not be  many  more  about  the  crucifixion,  because 
we  were  almost  through  yesterday." 

I  think  the  girls  ought  to  be  very  happy, 
Lewis,  h'dving  such  a  mamma.  If  my  own  had 
lived,  I  should  have  had  a  home,  too." 

(120) 


THE  TOMB  OF  CHRIST. 


121 


"  But  then  you  would  not  have  been  sent  to 
school,  and  then  I  shouldn't  have  known  you, 
and  we  should  not  have  had  this  nice  visit," 
returned  Lewis. 

"That 's  very  true;  but  then  an  own  mamma 
and  an  own  home,  you  know!" 

Lewis  felt  that  Henry  would  have  been  much 
happier,  and  he  hardly  knew  what  to  say.  So 
the  boys  walked  on  some  distance  without 
speaking,  though  they  looked  kindly  towards 
each  other,  now  and  then. 

I  think  this  is  the  last  day  the  boys  will  be 
with  us,  mamma,"  cried  Fannie,  as  they  en- 
tered Mrs.  Elliott's  room,  after  dinner. 

Well,  then  we  ought  to  be  doubly  attentive, 
and  enjoy  the  lesson  twice  as  much  as  iisual ; 
should  we  not,  Dora?" 

I  suppose  so,  aunt  Margaret;  I  will  try,  for 
one,"  answered  the  httle  girl,  taking  the  port- 
folio, and  unclasping  it,  as  she  placed  it  on  the 
little  round  table  before  Mrs.  Elliott. 

So  they  all  listened  with  great  interest,  while 
Mrs.  Elliott  recounted  what  you  have  read  in 
the  last  chapter,  and  then  she  went  on  to  tell 
them  what  was  done  after  the  purple  robe  and 
the  crown  of  thorns  had  been  taken  away. 


122 


THE  TOMB  OF  CHRIST. 


Pilate  had  given  him  up  to  the  people  and 
the  soldiers,"  said  Mrs.  Elliott;  and  you  can 
imagine  the  insults  and  the  pain  with  which 
they  tortured  him.  But,  wdth  all  this,  he  did 
not  turn  and  curse  them,  as  many  would  have 
done,  or  even  pray  to  his  Father  that  they 
might  be  punished.  They  had  determined  to 
crucify  him.  This  was  as  shameful  a  death 
then,  as  hanging  is  now.  Thieves  and  mur- 
derers were  crucified,  and  it  was  a  very  long 
and  cruel  suffering.  The  cross  was  roughly 
made  of  heavy  pieces  of  wood,  and  on  this  the 
poor  victim  was  nailed,  wath  his  arms  stretched 
out,  and  his  head  unsupported.  You  must 
think  how  painful  it  would  be,  to  have  great 
nails  driven  through  your  hands  and  feet  against 
a  rough  wooden  beam,  wdthout  any  other  sup- 
port, w^hile  you  were  left  to  hang  by  them. 

"  This  w^as  the  death  they  had  decreed  for 
our  Lord.  And  so  they  set  forth  from  the 
palace.  There  was  our  Saviour,  bound,  as  if  he 
had  been  the  most  wicked  criminal  in  the  w^orld. 
A  guard  of  soldiers,  wdth  their  spears,  sur- 
rounded him,  so  that  no  one  dared  to  think 
of  a  rescue.    Of  course,  there  was  a  crowd 


THE  TOMB  OF  CHRIST. 


123 


of  the  vilest  people  drawn  together;  for  it  is 
only  inhuman  and  degraded  men  who  take 
pleasure  in  witnessing  the  shame  and  the  suffer- 
ings of  their  fellow-creatures.  Besides  these, 
there  were  many  lovely  and  kind-hearted  wo- 
men, who  came  as  near  as  they  dared,  weep- 
ing and  lamenting  that  one  whom  they  loved 
and  honoured  should  be  so  insulted  and  reviled. 
Some  of  our  Saviour's  truest  friends  and  dis- 
ciples were  among  the  Jewish  women. 

How  sad  a  scene  must  this  have  been !  The 
meek  and  suffering  victim,  the  brutal  crowd, 
trampling  close  beside  him  through  the  streets, 
and,  afar  off,  the  sorrowing  women,  helpless  in 
their  grief,  but  not  the  less  true  and  fearless  in 
their  love  of  the  sufferer.  He  had  healed  their 
brothers,  or  perhaps  their  husbands,  of  terrible 
sickness — had  cured  their  children,  when  every 
one  else  gave  them  up  as  dying!  And  this 
was  his  reward.  No  wonder  that  they  wept 
bitterly." 

Did  not  the  Saviour  try  to  comfort  them, 
mamma  ?"  asked  Carrie. 

^'Yes;  he  told  them  not  to  weep  for  him, 
but  for  themselves.    He  knew  how  soon  his 


124 


THE  TOMB  OF  CHRIST. 


sufferings  would  be  ended,  and  how  great  would 
be  his  reward.  And  he  could  see,  for  all  things 
that  have  since  happened  w^ere  known  to  him, 
what  terrible  persecutions  they  must  bear,  if  they 
were  true  to  him.  Or,  perhaps,  he  w^as  think- 
ing of  the  fearful  day  when  the  Roman  army 
burned  the  temple,  and  killed  all  the  inhabit- 
ants that  resisted  them,  as  they  destroyed  Jeru- 
salem. 

At  last,  they  came  to  a  place  called  Golgo- 
tha, or  ^the  place  of  a  skull.'  I  suppose  it  w^as 
a  spot  on  Mount  Calvary,  set  apart  for  execu- 
tions, and  was  hated  and  shunned  by  every 
one." 

^'I  remember  a  field  where  somebody  was 
hung  a  great  many  years  ago,  Mrs.  Elliott," 
said  Henry.  "  It  w^as  about  a  mile  from  our 
house,  and  none  of  us  boys  would  go  through  it 
after  dark.  There  were  three  tall  poplar  trees 
close  by  the  fence,  and  the  middle  one  looked 
as  if  it  w^as  dead.  It  was  a  very  lonely  place  ; 
and  I  suppose  every  one  felt  just  so  about  Gol- 
gotha." 

I  have  no  doubt  but  it  was  avoided  then, 
just  as  the  field  was,"  said  Mrs.  Elliott,  ^4hough 


THE  TOMB  OF  CHRIST. 


125 


now  it  has  become  a  place  of  pilgrimage.  And 
to  this  lonely,  frightful  spot,  the  sad  procession 
came.  Here  they  nailed  our  Saviour  to  the 
rough  beams  of  the  cross,  and  here,  with  the 
blood  streaming  from  his  wounded  hands  and 
feet,  he  hung.  There  was  a  thief  on  each  side 
of  him,  to  show  with  what  contempt  they  re- 
garded ^the  impostor,'  as  they  called  him. 
Crowds  of  coarse  and  brutal  people  came  to 
look  upon  his  sufferings,  and  to  nod  their  heads 
in  scorn,  as  they  went  away.  The  very  thieves 
called  him  shameful  names,  and  mocked  him, 
as  being  worse  than  they. 

Think  how  those  who  truly  loved  him  must 
have  felt  through  these  long  hours  of  agony! 
They  dared  not  do  anything  to  relieve  him,  and 
could  only  stand  by  and  watch  life  pass  slowly 
away.  His  meek  patience  did  not  forsake  him ; 
and  it  won  the  heart  of  one  of  those  wicked 
men.  The  prayer  of  the  penitent  thief  was 
heard — his  unkindness  and  his  sins  all  forgiven. 
He  was  promised  that  he  should  pass  with  his 
Lord  from  earth  to  Paradise. 

"At  last,  a  strange,  thick  darkness  covered 
the  whole  city.    The  people  began  to  tremble, 


126 


THE  TOMB  OF  CHRIST. 


for  it  was  like  night,  and  there  could  be  no  rea- 
son for  it,  unless  the  dying  one  was  indeed  the 
Son  of  God.  They  saw  how  patiently  he  bore 
all  that  they  had  heaped  upon  him  — how  un- 
selfish he  was  to  think  of  his  mother's  comfort 
and  happiness,  when  he  had  suffered  so  much. 
For  when  he  saw  her  standing  and  weeping 
there,  he  gave  her  to  the  care  of  the  disciple  he 
had  loved  the  best,  who  from  that  moment  was 
a  son  to  her  for  his  Master's  sake. 

"  The  sharp  wounds  now  began  to  be  doubly 
painful.  A  burning  fever  and  thirst  was  added 
to  his  torments.  But  no  hand  of  love  could 
reach  him  to  soothe  and  comfort.  There  was 
no  one  to  bathe  his  burning  forehead,  or  reach 
him  a  cooling  draught.  A  sponge  full  of  vine- 
gar was  all  that  the  soldiers  would  give  him, 
and  for  a  moment  the  anguish  was  so  great, 
that  he  felt  as  if  even  God  had  forsaken  him. 
There  was  one  fearful  cry  sent  from  his  hps, 
and  then  that  poor  throbbing  head  was  bowed, 
as  death  released  our  Master  from  all  pain  and 
agony. 

"  ^  It  is  finished,'^  he  said,  as  his  earthly 'task 
was  ended.    His  life  of  shame  and  loneliness, 


THE  TOMB  OF  CHRIST.  127 

his  cruel  and  undeserved  death-pangs,  were 
ended.  The  world  was  free  from  the  bondage 
of  Satan.  The  promise  of  a  Redeemer  was 
fulfilled.  From  that  hour  those  who  plead  for 
God's  pardon  could  say,  'for  thy  Son's  sake.' 
The  Lamb  of  God  had  taken  away  the  sins  of 
the  world." 

There  were  tears  in  the  eyes  of  the  children 
as  Mrs.  Elliott  stopped  speaking,  for  her  own 
voice  trembled  with  deep  feeling.  Fannie  sobbed 
aloud,  for  she  never  could  see  or  hear  of  suffer- 
ing without  being  deeply  grieved  herself.  She 
did  not  feel  as  she  afterwards  felt,  when  she 
was  old  enough  to  know,  that  her  sins  and  her 
ingratitude  had  then  been  added  to  the  weight 
of  her  Master's  woe.  She  has  since  shed  more 
bitter  tears  at  this  very  thought,  as  she  listened 
to  the  solemn  words  of  the  Litany — 

"  By  thine  agony,  and  bloody  sweat,  by  thy 
cross,  and  passion,  by  thy  precious  death  and 
burial, 

Good  Lord  deliver  us^ 

"Even  the  soldiers,"  continued  Mrs.  Elliott, 
"were  amazed  at  these  strange  and  terrible 
things.    Many  were  won  to  believe  the  truth 


128 


THE  TOMB  OF  CHRIST. 


of  what  they  had  heard.  Their  captain  said, 
'  of  a  truth  he  was  a  righteous  man.' 

"  It  was  the  eve  of  the  Jewish  Sabbath,  when 
it  was  not  lawful  for  any  execution  to  be  going 
on.  So  men  were  sent  to  put  an  end  to  the 
sufferings  of  the  thieves  who  were  yet  aHve. 
But  when  they  came  to  Jesus,  they  found  he 
was  beyond  all  pain;  though  one  of  them,  in 
the  malice  of  his  wicked  heart,  thrust  a  spear 
into  his  side,  when  the  blood  and  water  gushed 
out. 

"  This  was  the  last  insult  that  it  was  possible 
for  them  to  offer.  In  a  few  moments  more, 
those  who  loved  him  had  come  to  bear  the  body 
of  their  Lord  to  the  tomb.  With  pious  hands 
they  took  him  gently  from  the  cross.  They 
drew  the  cruel  nails  from  his  swollen  flesh,  and 
cleansed  his  bleeding  side  with  fragrant  water. 
A  pure  linen  robe  was  wrapped  about  the  silent 
form,  and,  in  tears  and  grief,  they  bore  him  to 
his  rest. 

''It  was  not  a  grave  like  those  we  see,  but 
more  like  the  vault  in  the  hill-side,  where  Fan- 
nie's  grand-parents  are  laid.  It  was  cut  from 
the  rock,  and  belonged  to  the  rich  man,  who 


THE  TOMB  OF  CHRIST.  129 

had  begged  to  be  permitted  thus  to  reverence 
in  death,  the  Master  he  had  served.  So  through 
the  beautiful  garden  the  friends  of  Jesus  passed, 
when  they  had  laid  him  to  rest.  But  the  next 
day  a  guard  of  soldiers  came  to  watch  over  it, 
by  the  order  of  the  Jews.  They  feared  the 
disciples  would  steal  away  the  body,  and  then 
pretend  that  Christ  had  returned  to  life  again. 
This  was  because  our  Saviour  had  said  that  on 
the  third  day  he  should  rise  from  the  dead. 

"Of  course  they  did  not  believe  that  this 
could  be,  but  they  knew  if  the  people  could  be 
made  to  think  Christ  was  alive  again,  more 
would  follow  him  than  ever  before.  So  a  great 
stone  was  rolled  to  the  door  of  the  sepulchre, 
and  the  sound  of  the  soldiers'  footsteps  was 
heard  in  the  stillness  of  the  night. 

"But  morning  came.  And  even  before  it 
was  day,  those  good  women  who  had  loved 
our  Saviour  so  much,  came  to  the  entrance  of 
the  garden.  It  seems  they  too  thought  all  was 
over,  for  they  brought  spices,  and  precious 
thmgs  that  were  used  for  embalming  the  dead. 
They  were  going  to  pay  the  last  tribute  of  love 
to  their  Master,  and  prepare  him  for  his  burial 


130 


THE  TOMB  OF  CHRIST. 


''I  can  see  them  now,  going  sadly  on  their 
way,  talking  of  his  love,  and  his  gentleness,  and 
how  lonely  they  should  be  now  that  he  was 
taken  from  them.  When  suddenly,  as  they 
came  to  the  door  of  the  tomb,  they  saw  the 
stone  had  been  rolled  away,  and  it  was  empty. 
No,  not  empty ;  for  in  another  moment  an  angel, 
clad  in  white,  appeared  to  them,  and  told  them 
all  that  had  happened.  How  their  Lord  had 
gone  forth  from  the  tomb,  and  had  cast  aside 
the  garments  of  death,  that  were  lying  near 
them.  And  no  wonder  they  could  not  speak 
for  amazement,  while  they  listened  to  the  strange 
story." 

Here  Carrie  took  up  the  picture  that  had 
been  lying  before  them  all  the  time,  although 
they  had  been  so  much  interested  in  what  Mrs. 
Elliott  was  saying,  that  they  forgot  to  look  at  it. 
It  was  just  what  she  had  described  to  them. 
They  saw  the  garden,  and  the  tomb,  the  three 
women  looking  towards  the  angel,  as  he  told 
them  their  Lord  was  not  there. 

It  was  quite  dark  before  the  children  left 
Mrs.  Elliott  that  pleasant  Sunday  evening,  for 
they  had  many  questions  to  ask,  and  it  was 


THE  TOMB  OF  CHRIST.  131 

the  last  time  they  would  be  all  together  for 
many  months.  Henry  Lord  never  forgot  that 
long  twilight  conversation,  and  he  and  Lewis 
spoke  of  it  very  often  after  they  had  returned 
to  school. 


THE  THIETEENTH  PICTUHE. 


CHRIST  APPEARING  TO  MARY  IN  THE 
GARDEN. 

Monday  was  a  very  busy  day  at  Oatlands,  for 
Cousin  Jane  particularly.  The  boys  were  to 
go  on  Tuesday,  and  all  their  trunks  were  to  be 
packed.  Mrs.  Elliott  was  not  able  to  attend  to 
anything,  but  the  little  girls  assisted  as  much  as 
possible.  They  arranged  all  the  clothes,  and 
those  that  needed  a  stitch  here  and  there,  were 
carried  to  Cousin  Jane  for  attention. 

Henry  and  Lewis  packed  the  books,  and 
w^ere  very  much  pleased  when  Mr.  Elliott  took 
them  to  the  large  book-case  in  the  hall,  and 
told  them  to  choose  any  volume  they  liked  from 
it.  And  what  do  you  think  they  carried  away? 

(132) 


CHRIST  APPEARING  TO  MARY.  133 

Lewis  had  his  mind  made  up  before  he  came 
into  the  hall,  and  walking  straight  to  the  lower 
shelf,  took  down  the  great  copy  of  the  Arabian 
Nights.  His  father  smiled,  for  it  had  long  been 
intended  for  Lewis,  when  he  should  be  old 
enough  to  read  it. 

Henry  looked  over  a  great  many  volumes. 
There  were  so  many  that  he  should  have  liked, 
he  hardly  knew  how  to  make  a  choice.  But 
after  all,  he  selected  a  little  French  Testament, 
bound  in  green  morocco.  He  had  often  wanted 
a  French  Testament,  and  Mr.  Elliott  thought 
he  had  chosen  very  wisely.  Dora  was  very 
anxious  to  hear  how  the  Lord's  Prayer  would 
sound  in  another  language,  and  Henry  read  it 
to  her.  It  seemed  so  strange,  she  said,  to  think 
of  the  Bible  being  anything  but  English.  So 
Henry  told  her,  that  for  a  long  time  there  was 
no  English  Bible  at  all,  and  that  people  had  to 
depend  upon  the  translation  of  the  priests,  who 
read  it  to  them  in  Latin.  Then  Mr.  Elliott  told 
them  a  great  many  strange  things  about  the 
translation  of  the  Bible,  and  about  the  beautiful 
manuscripts  which  the  monks  used  to  make 
before  printing  was  discovered.    He  showed 


134  CHRIST  APPEARING  TO  MARY. 


them  one  of  the  gospels,  written  on  parchment, 
which  had  cost  a  great  deal,  and  was  many 
hundred  years  old.  There  was  a  border  of 
blue  and  crimson  figures,  painted  around  every 
page,  and  rude  pictures  of  scenes  from  the 
Testament. 

How  different  they  were  from  the  fine  en- 
gravings in  the  portfoho !  Dora  said  she  was 
very  glad  she  had  not  lived  in  the  days  when 
there  were  no  books ;  but  Lewis  said  of  course 
there  was  no  studying  to  be  done  then,  and  he 
thought  the  boys  must  have  had  fine  times. 

I  think  people  must  have  prized  the  Bible 
more,  then,"  continued  Mr.  Elliott;  "for  we 
all  like  best,  those  things  we  cannot  have.  If 
the  pure  crystal  water,  which  we  think  so  little 
of  and  use  so  carelessly,  was  only  obtained  by 
great  cost  and  labour,  we  should  value  it  above 
the  finest  wine.  Now,  when  good  Testaments 
can  be  bought  for  a  few  cents,  we  think  very 
little  of  them,  when  once  it  would  have  been 
considered  quite  a  fortune  to  own  one." 

All  this  conversation  passed  while  Mr.  Elliott 
was  writing  the  boys'  names  in  their  new  books. 
Th^r  they  all  went  to  Mrs.  Elliott's  room,  for 


CHRIST  APPEARING  TO  MARY.  135 

prayers.  They  were  to  start  early  in  the  morn- 
ing, so  the  children  went  to  their  beds  very  soon. 

Partings  are  generally  very  sad  scenes.  None 
of  us  know  whether  it  is  God's  will  that  we 
should  ineet  again,  and  we  like  always  to  be 
with  those  we  love.  But  though  children  feel 
very  badly  at  the  time,  they  soon  get  over  it ; 
and  so  Lewis  and  Henry  were  talking  very 
merrily  by  the  time  the  carriage  reached  Boston 
next  morning,  and  wondering  who  they  were 
going  to  have  for  schoolmates  this  term.  They 
drove  rapidly  through  the  busy  streets  to  the 
stage-office,  and  there  Mr.  Elliott  left  them, 
comfortably  seated  on  the  outside  of  the  car- 
riage, with  their  trunks  lashed  on  behind. 

The  girls  felt  sad  much  longer.  They  missed 
the  quick  step  and  merry  laugh  of  Lewis.  Car- 
rie thought  of  Henry  very  often ;  for  they  were 
much  alike,  and  he  was  so  gentle  and  unselfish, 
that  nobody  could  help  loving  him.  It  was  a 
dull  week,  on  the  whole ;  and  even  Dora  was 
not  sorry  when  Saturday  night  came.  When 
the  lesson-hour  of  Sunday  arrived,  they  walked 
very  soberly  in,  and  took  the  seats  they  had 
been  accustomed  to ;  but  they  missed  the  boys 


136  CHRIST  APPEARING  TO  MARY. 

more  than  ever.  Mrs.  Elliott  thought  of  her 
son,  as  well  as  they,  I  fancy,  but  she  listened 
to  their  lamentations  of  loneliness  without  say- 
ing so,  and  gave  Carrie  the  next  picture  on  the 
list. 

"What  do  you  think  it  is  intended  for?'^ 
said  she,  as  Fannie  peeped  over  her  sister's 
shoulder. 

"  Why,  there  seems  to  be  a  beautiful  wood- 
no,  a  garden,  I  think  it  is.  There  are  rocks^ 
and  trees,  and  hills,  a  great  way  off.  Then 
there  is  our  Saviour  — I  know  it  must  be  hiiiij 
because  there  are  rays  of  light  around  his  head, 
just  as  there  are  in  pictures  of  the  babe,  when 
the  wise  men  came,  in  the  manger.  Then  there 
is  a  lady,  looking  very  astonished  or  frightened, 
and  she  is  kneeling  down  before  him." 

"  Well,  Fannie,  imagine  that  some  one  you 
loved  very. much  —  your  father,  for  instance  — 
was  dead.  What  if  you  had  stood  by  the  side 
of  the  bed,  while  he  was  sick,  and  had  helped 
me  take  care  of  him.  Then  when  he  came  to 
die,  you  had  known  there  w^as  no  more  hope. 
You  Avould  see  the  eyes  that  now  smile  on  you 
so  kindly,  closed  for  ever.    You  might  kiss  the 


f 

CHRIST  APPEARING  TO  MARY,  137 


forehead,  but  it  would  be  as  cold  as  marble. 
The  lips  that  had  kissed  you  so  often,  had 
grown  stiff  and  pale,  and  you  would  feel  that 
you  could  never  listen  to  your  father's  voice 
again.  I  think  this  would  make  you  very  un- 
happy, Fannie." 

"  Oh,  mamma,  how  can  you  talk  about  such 
things !  I  should  want  to  die,  too — I 'm  sure  I 
should." 

"Then  you  can  imagine  something  of  the 
sorrow  which  Mary  Magdalene  felt,  when  she 
saw  her  Lord  laid  in  the  tomb. 

"And  what  if,  after  all,  you  should  go  some 
day  to  your  father's  grave,  and  find  it  was 
empty.  And  while  you  were  wondering  what 
it  could  mean,  he  should  stand  before  you  him- 
self, alive  and  well,  smiling  upon  you,  and  call- 
ing you  ^  my  daughter.'  " 

"  Oh,  mamma!" 

"  It  was  so  with  poor  Mary  Magdalene.  She 
came  early,  on  the  first  day  of  the  week,  to  visit 
the  tomb  of  her  best  friend.  But  it  was  empty. 
Then  she  wandered  oflT  through  the  garden, 
looking  for  some  one  that  she  might  enquire  of 
about  it.    Blinded  by  her  tears,  she  did  not 


138  CHRIST  APPEARING  TO  MARY. 

look  up  when  she  heard  a  step  coming  towards 
her;  but  she  said,  thinking  it  to  be  the  gar- 
dener, '  Oh,  tell  me  where  you  have  laid  him.' 

"  '  Mary !'  said  a  well-known  voice,  so  sw^eet, 
so  soft. 

In  one  moment  her  tears  were  dried.  She 
felt  who  it  was  that  spoke,  and  answered  but 
one  little  word — 

'My  Master!' 

Think  what  a  gush  of  happiness  must  have 
filled  her  heart,  as  she  bowed  before  him.  It 
was,  indeed,  her  Master ;  but  he  had  now  be- 
come her  Redeemer.  '  Death  and  hell  had  not 
prevailed  against  him ;'  and  from  that  day,  the 
first,  instead  of  the  seventh  day  of  the  week, 
has  been  kept  sacred  by  Christians  in  memory 
of  the  resurrection." 

Oh,  I  should  have  been  too  happy  for  any- 
thing, I  think,"  said  Carrie.  "  I  should  have 
run  the  very  moment  I  was  sure  it  was  him  to 
tell  you,  and  Fannie,  and  all  the  rest.  How  I 
should  have  liked  to  have  such  good  news  to 
tell !" 

There,  too,  you  would  be  like  Mary.  For 
our  Saviour  charged  her  to  go  at  once,  and  tell 


CHRIST  APPEARING  TO  MARY.  139 


his  disciples  what  had  happened.  So  she  went 
with  willing  feet,  to  make  them  as  happy  as 
herself,  though  she  was  the  only  one  who  had 
seen  him." 

But  about  the  soldiers,  aunt  Margaret.  Did 
not  the  wicked  Jews  believe  then  that  Christ 
told  the  truth  ?" 

"  They  were  hired  to  say  that  the  disciples 
had  come  in  the  night  to  steal  him  away.  And 
I  suppose  the  Jews  were  only  too  willing  to  be- 
lieve it.  To  this  day,  that  is  what  they  will  tell 
you,  if  you  ask  them  about  it." 

"  Then  did  nobody  but  Mary  see  the  Saviour, 
after  he  was  alive  again?"  asked  Carrie.  "I 
thought  he  told  Peter  about  the  little  lambs,  and 
saw  them  draw  in  the  fish,  after  that." 

"  Yes,  we  shall  have  something  about  Peter 
in  our  next  lesson.  Christ  appeared  to  them 
several  times,  after  he  saw  Mary.  Once,  when 
some  of  them  were  walking  to  a  little  village 
called  Emmaus,  and  talking  over  all  that  had 
happened,  he  came  near  them,  and  asked  what 
it  was  that  interested  them  so  much. 

''They  thought  it  was  strange  that  he  had 
not  heard  about  the  wonderful  things  every  one 


140  CHRIST  APPEARING  TO  MARY. 


was  talking  of.  So  they  began  to  tell  him  about 
it.  And  when  he  found  how  faithless  they  were, 
that  they  did  not  really  beheve  what  Mary  had 
told  them,  he  said,  '  oh,  ye  fools,  and  slow  of 
heart.'  But  it  was  a  sorrowful,  and  not  an  an- 
gry rebuke. 

So  he  began  with  the  Old  Testament,  to 
explain  to  them  how  his  life  and  death  had  been 
foretold.  They  did  not  know  him  all  the  while, 
as  they  walked  along  together.  I  suppose  he 
began  with  the  covenant  between  God  and 
Abraham,  and  followed  the  history  of  the  Jew- 
ish nation  up  to  that  time.  He  made  them  see 
how  plainly  everything  had  been  foretold.  They 
were  very  much  interested  in  the  conversation ; 
and  when  they  came  to  the  village,  asked  him 
to  stop  with  them,  as  it  was  very  late.  It  was 
not  until  he  took  bread,  and  blessed  it,  at  sup- 
per, as  he  had  done  once  before,  that  they  knew 
who  their  companion  was.  But  he  vanished 
from  them." 

"  Then  I  suppose  they  went  and  told  the 
rest,"  said  Fannie. 

Yes,  they  went  directly  back  to  Jerusalem, 
where  the  eleven  apostles  were — " 


CHRIST  APPEARING  TO  MARY.  141 


"  Twelve  apostles,  aunt  Margaret." 
"  You  forget  that  Judas  was  dead.  So  there 
was  only  eleven  then,  and  they  all  kept  together. 
The  men  found  them  very  easily;  and  while 
they  were  telling  the  wonderful  story,  Christ 
himself  appeared  in  their  midst. 

Instead  of  being  happy,  as  Mary  had  been, 
they  were  very  much  frightened,  and  thought  a 
spirit  had  appeared.  But  he  soothed  them  with 
kind  words,  and  made  even  Thomas,  who  at 
first  doubted,  to  believe  that  he  was  indeed 
risen  again.  Then  the  time  came  when  he  must 
part  from  them,  and  return  to  his  heavenly  home. 
We  are  told  that  he  ascended  before  them  into 
heaven,  and  while  they  watched  him,  a  cloud 
received  him  out  of  their  sight.  Then  angels 
came,  and  a^ked  them  why  they  stood  gazing 
up  into  heaven ;  for  the  angels  knew,  and  told 
the  disciples,  that  Christ  should  come  again  to 
earth  as  the  Judge  of  the  hving  and  the  dead." 

"  Is  that  all,  aunt  Margaret  ?  Have  you  told 
us  the  whole  of  the  life  of  Christ  ?" 

"Do  you  not  remember  we  commenced  with 
the  birth  of  the  little  infant  in  Bethany.  Then 
we  talked  about  the  principal  events  of  his  mi- 


142  CHRIST  APPEARING  TO  MARY. 

nistry.  Our  last  two  lessons  were  of  his  death ; 
and  now  we  have  seen  how  he  ascended  to  the 
heaven  he  had  left  for  our  sake." 

'^I  think  it  is  so  intereresting  to  understand 
what  w^e  read  about  in  the  Testament.  And 
that 's  what  all  the  gospels  are  about,  isn't  it, 
mamma  ?' '  said  Carrie.  "  Just  what  Matthew, 
and  Mark,  and  Luke,  and  John,  remembered 
about  the  Saviour." 

"  Oh,"  said  Dora,  "  that 's  the  reason  they 
have  the  same  stories  in.  Well,  it  has  been 
very  interesting,  and  I  hope  there  are  more  les- 
sons yet." 


THE  FOURTEENTH  PICTURE. 


PETER  DELIVERED  FROM  PRISON  BY  THE 
ANGEL. 

Mrs.  Elliott  had  improved  so  rapidly  in  the  ' 
last  few  weeksj  that  she  began  to  think  of  going 
out  again.  Her  physician  gave  his  consent  that 
she  should  leave  her  room  at  any  rate,  and  great 
was  the  joy  of  the  children,  when  on  the  next 
Sunday  afternoon,  she  came  down  to  the  par- 
lour, leaning  on  Mr.  Elliott's  arm.  She  was 
still  very  pale  and  feeble,  but  now  her  recovery 
was  certain. 

"  I  think  I  shall  have  to  be  allowed  to  stay 
in  your  class  this  afternoon,"  said  Mr.  Elliott, 
"since  I  have  brought  you  your  teacher." 

"  Oh,  bt  our  teacher,  this  afternoon ;  please 
do,  papa,"  said  Carrie. 

(143) 


144        PETER  DELIVERED  FROM  PRISON. 

Ah,  please,  uncle  Elliott." 

Well,  my  little  Dora,  I  have  no  lesson  pre- 
pared, but  we  will  see.  At  least  I  can  tell  if 
you  have  improved  by  what  you  have  been 
learning.  How  is  the  New  Testament  divided, 
Carrie?" 

"  Into  the  Gospels,  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles, 
and  the  Epistles." 

And  what  are  the  gospels,  Fannie  ?" 
Different  histories  of  the  life  of  our  Saviour. 
We  learned  that  in  our  last  lesson,  papa." 

"  Uncle,  what  does  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles 
mean.  I  think  it  is  such  an  odd  name,"  inter- 
rupted Dora. 

"  Well,  what  if  I  should  write  an  account  of 
all  you  have  done  since  you  have  been  with  us. 
Would  it  not  be  a  history  of  your  actions,  or 
acts,  and  we  might  call  it  '  the  Acts  of  Dora.'  " 
"  Oh,  now  I  understand— but  I  guess  I  should 
not  like  you  to  write  such  a  story."  Dora 
thought  of  several  misdeeds  that  would  not  have 
looked  very  well  written  down. 

"  So  the  Acts  tell  what  the  apostles  did,  after 
the  Saviour  was  gone  back  to  heaven.  Is  that 
it,  papa?" 


PETER  DELIVERED  FROM  PRISON,  145 


"  Yes,  little  Fannie ;  and  we  are  going  to 
have  a  story  from  it  this  afternoon,  I  should 
think,  by  the  picture  your  mamma  has  just  given 
me.  It  is  something  about  Peter.  What  do 
you  remember  of  Peter,  Carrie  ?" 

"  Oh,  there  is  a  great  deal  about  Peter,  papa. 
The  walking  on  the  sea,  you  know." 
"  Tell  us  what  you  remember  about  it." 
Why,  Jesus  went  away  from  the  disciples 
one  night,  and  they  were  all  in  a  ship.  Then 
■when  it  was  quite  dark,  he  came  to  them  walk-« 
ing  upon  the  water.  Peter  thought  he  could 
walk  upon  the  water  too.  So  he  left  the  ship, 
and  went  towards  the  Saviour.  But  the  waves 
came  up  over  his  feet,  and  he  found  he  was 
going  to  sink.  Then  he  called  out,  ^.ord, 
save,  or  I  perish and  the  Saviour  reached  out 
his  hands,  and  held  Peter  up." 

"  Then  it  was  Peter  who  said  the  Saviour 
should  not  w^ash  his  feet,  the  night  when  they 
were  all  at  supper ;  don't  you  remember,  Fan- 
nie ?"  said  Dora. 

"  Yes,  and  he  said  he  could  never  leave  the 
Saviour;  and  that  very  night  he  said,  three 

K 


146        PETER  DELIVERED  FROM  PRISON. 


times,  that  be  never  had  heard  an}ihing  about 
him." 

"  But  I  think  Jesus  loved  Peter,  papa,  for  he 
only  looked  at  him.  Something  as  mamma 
looks  at  me  when  I  offend  her,  I  think.  It 
always  seem  to  say,  '  oh,  Carrie,  how  can  you 
grieve  me  so  !'  " 

Mrs.  Elliott  smiled  affectionately,  and  said, 
"you  are  right,  my  daughter." 

"  ]\Iamma  read  me  a  nice  story  about  Peter, 
when  I  was  sick,"  said  Fannie.  "It  was  after 
the  Saviour  was  alive  again,  and  tliey  were 
talking  together.  The  Saviour  asked  Peter  if  he 
loved  him,  and  Peter  said,  '  yes.'  Then  he  said, 

"  '  Feed  my  lamhs."^ 

"  But  he  asked  Peter  again,  as  if  he  did  not 
believe  him,  or  somethmg.  So  Peter  answered 
just  the  same.    Then  the  Sa^-iour  told  him — 

"  'Feed  my  sheep,'' 

"Afterwards,  he  asked  Peter  again,  and  said 
the  same.  That  made  three  times — just  as 
many  times  as  Peter  had  denied  him.  Didn^t 
it,  mamma?" 

"  I  wonder  if  it  did  not  make  Peter  think  of 
that?"  said  Carrie. 


f 


PETER  DELIVERED  FROM  PRISON.  147 

"No  doubt  it  did,"  answered  Mr.  Elliott. 
"And  Peter  did  not  hesitate  to  expose  himself 
to  danger,  and  to  death  even,  that  he  might 
teach  others  to  love  his  Master.  This  is  what 
Jesus  meant  by  feeding  his  flock.  After  the 
Saviour  had  left  this  world,  the  disciples  kept 
together,  just  as  you  children  would  love  each 
other  better,  if  your  mamma  or  I  should  be 
taken  from  you.  It  was  Peter  who  proposed 
that  they  should  choose  another  apostle  in  the 
place  of  Judas,  so  that  there  might  be  twelve 
again.  They  decided  on  Matthias,  as  you  will 
find  in  the  first  chapter  of  Acts. 

"Then  afterwards,  we  find  Peter  standing 
up  on  the  day  of  Pentecost,  and  explaining  to 
the  people  who  came  to  hear  them  preach,  how 
they  came  to  believe  in  a  new  religion,  and  tell- 
ing them,  that  if  they  wished  to  find  favour  in 
God's  sight,  they  too  must  repent,  and  be  bap- 
tized. 

"  It  was  one  of  the  finest  sermons  that  has 
ever  been  listened  to,  and  three  thousand  people 
were  converted  to  beheve  as  they  did,  on  that 
very  day.  This  was  the  commencement  of  the 
Christian  church,  of  which  hundreds  of  thou- 
sands have  since  been  members. 


148       PETER  DELIVERED  FROM  PRISON. 

From  that  time,  there  were  many  convinced 
every  day  that  the  apostles  spoke  the  truth ;  and 
that  Jesus  was  the  Redeemer  the  Jews  had  been 
looking  for  so  long.  Peter  seems  to  have  been 
more  busy  than  any  of  them.  It  seems  as  if  he 
was  trying  to  atone  for  his  faults.  It  was  Peter 
who  went  with  John  into  the  Temple,  when 
they  healed  the  lame  men ;  and  afterwards  de- 
fended their  faith,  when  they  were  tried  before 
the  chief  priests.  For,  of  course,  the  Jew^s 
were  very  angry  when  they  found  more  people 
than  ever  becoming  Christians.  They  were 
called  so,  because  Christ  was  their  Master. 

After  a  while,  Herod,  the  king— (I  suppose 
you  have  learned  how  he  became  king  over  the 
Jews,  before  this  ?)  —  began  to  get  very  angry. 
He  determined  to  put  a  stop  to  the  new  rehgion, 
and  began  by  beheading  James.  The  Jews 
liked  this,  and  Herod  wished  to  gain  their 
favour,  so  he  sent  the  soldiers  to  put  Peter  into 
prison.  I  suppose  it  was  because  he  was  so 
active  in  doing  good. 

"  The  rest  of  the  disciples  felt  very  badly  at 
having  their  leader  taken  away  from  them,  but 
they  could  do  nothing  to  rescue  him  themselves. 


PETER  DELIVERED  FROM  PRISON'.  149 

Now,  what  do  you  think  they  did,  in  this  case  ? 
Leave  him  to  die  there  ?" 
"Oh,  I  hope  not,  uncle." 
"  But  what  could  they  do,  papa  ?" 
"  What  we  can  all  do,  when  there  is  no  one 
on  earth  to  help  us.     They  prayed  without 
ceasing  for  God's  assistance.    They  remem- 
bered that  Christ  had  told  them,  whatsoever 
two  or  three  should  earnestly  ask  in  his  name, 
should  be  granted.    I  do  not  believe  thei^ 
prayers  were  such  formal  tasks,  as  the  prayers 
of  many  of  us  are  now." 

"  But  they  had  seen  the  Saviour,  and  knew 
how  much  he  loved  them,"  said  Fannie. 

"  What  were  his  parting  words,  my  daughter? 
'  I  am  with  you  always.'  He  is  as  near  us  now, 
and  loves  us  as  well.  The  only  difference  is, 
that  our  faith  in  him,  and  our  love  to  him,  is 
less.  We  will  see  how  their  prayers  were  an- 
swered. 

"There  was  everything  to  discourage  them 
The  pnson  was  very  strong.   Peter  was  guarded 
by  many  bands  of  soldiers.    There  was  no  pos- 
sible way  of  escape.   But  still  they  prayed.  So 
in  answer  to  these  fervent  petitions,  God  wrought 


150       PETER  DELIVERED  FROM  PRISON. 


one  of  the  greatest  miracles  recorded  after  the 
death  of  the  Saviour. 

"  To  make  all  sure  and  safe,  Peter  slept  be- 
tween two  soldiers,  and  was  bound  with  a 
double  chain.  But  one  night,  a  bright  light 
shone  into  his  cell,  and  an  angel  came  and 
roused  him  from  his  sleep.  Here  is  the  whole 
scene ;  and  you  may  see  for  yourselves  the  dis- 
mal dungeon,  the  heavy  chains,  and  the  sleep- 
ing soldiers.  There  is  the  bright  light  shining 
on  Peter,  who  has  just  awakened. 

"  The  angel  told  Peter  not  to  be  alarmed,  ^but 
to  put  on  his  sandals  and  his  robe,  and  come 
forth.  So  Peter  followed  his  angelic  guide 
through  the  throng  of  armed  men,  who  did  not 
move  a  limb,  out  into  the  free  open  air.  When 
they  came  to  the  great  iron  gate  of  the  city,  it 
opened  of  its  own  accord,  and  Peter  was  once 
more  at  liberty." 

"Why,  it's  just  like  a  fairy-tale,"  said  Dora. 

"  It 's  better  than  a  fairy-tale,"  answered  Fan- 
nie,   for  it 's  all  true.    Is  n't  it,  papa  ?" 

"Certainly,  my  dear;  you  can  read  it  for 
yourselves  in  the  12th  chapter  of  Acts,  any  time 
you  please.    And  there  is  more  there.    It  goes 


PETER  DELIVERED  FROM  PRISON.  151 

on  to  tell  how  Peter  went  to  his  friends,  and 
they  were  so  frightened,  that  they  thought  he 
was  executed,  and  this  was  his  spirit  come  to 
tell  them  about  it.  They  were  happy  enough 
to  find  it  all  reality." 

'^But  didn't  the  king  try  to  get  him  again, 
papa?" 

"  He  was  very  angry,  I  suppose,  at  the  escape 
of  his  prisoner.  He  examined  the  soldiers  who 
had  the  charge  of  Peter,  and  had  them  put  to 
death.  But  he  died  himself  soon  after,  of  a 
very  cruel  and  terrible  disease,  which  was  sent 
to  punish  him  for  his* great  wickedness." 

"  I  think  I  like  you  very  much  for  a  teacher, 
papa,"  said  Fannie,  springing  to  Mr.  Elliott's 
knee  and  throwing  her  arms  around  his  neckj 
as  the  portfolio  was  closed. 

"So  do  I,"  said  Dora;  "but  who  would 
have  thought  that  'the  Acts'  I  never  could  bear 
to  read,  because  it  was  such  an  ugly  name  I 
could  not  understand,  had  such  beautiful  stories 
init?'^ 


THE  FIFTEENTH  PICTURE, 


PAUL  PREACHING  AT  ATHENS. 

Mamma,"  said  Fannie,  when  they  next  met 
for  the  lesson  of  the  day,  ^^I  cannot  understand 
about  Paul.  I  am  very  sure  he  was  not  among 
the  twelve  apostles,  because  I  read  every  name 
over;  and  yet,  when  the  epistle  w^as  read  this 
morning,  I  noticed  it  said,  'Paul,  an  apostle  of 
Jesus  Christ.'  " 

And  he  seems  to  have  wTitten  so  many  of 
the  Epistles,"  added  Carrie. 

"  Epistles  mean  letters.  How  can  there  be 
any  letters  in  the  Testament,  aunt?"  asked  Dora. 

Well,  we  will  answer  Dora-s  question  first; 
for  after  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  which  we 
talked  about  last  Sunday,  the  rest  of  the  Testa- 

(152) 


PAUL  PREACHING  AT  ATHENS.  153 

ment  is  all  composed  of  the  Epistles.  When 
your  father  was  your  teacher,  he  said,  suppose 
we  should  die,  and  leave  you  children  alone  in 
the  world.  Well,  let  us  go  on  with  this.  You 
would  like  to  keep  together  as  much  as  possible ; 
but  it  might  be  necessary  to  live  apart.  You 
would  wish  to  do  all  that  you  knew  your  father 
and  I  had  desired  while  we  were  with  you;  but 
perhaps  the  younger  ones  might  forget  our  rules, 
or  not  exactly  understand  them.  Then  Lewis, 
as  the  eldest,  although  separated  from  you,' 
could  write  long  letters  of  advice,  and  to  recall 
all  our  instructions. 

"  So  it  was  something  like  this  in  the  early 
church -Christ's  family.  The  elder  apostles 
wrote  to  the  different  companies  of  disciples 
that  were  scattered  through  the  country,  all  they 
could  remember  of  Christ's  teachings,  and  the 
rules  for  their  conduct.  These  letters  were  pre- 
served  with  great  care,  and  as  the  apostles  were 
mspired  men,  their  epistles  became  a  part  of  the 
Bible.  The  instructions  contained  in  them  are 
just  as  necessary  for  our  guidance  now,  as  for 
the  disciples  then." 

"  Now  I  understand  all  about  the  Testament," 
said  Dora,  very  proudly. 


154         PAUL  PREACHING  AT  ATHENS. 

Mrs.  Elliott  thought  she  had  a  great  deal  to 
learn  yet,  and  told  her  little  niece  so.  "  We 
can  never  know  too  much  about  it,''  she  said, 
"  or  read  it  too  often.  But  what  you  mean,  is, 
that  you  understand  the  plan  better,  and  you 
will  always  be  more  interested  in  it,  I  think." 

I  don't  believe  any  one  could  be  interested, 
except  in  the  stories,"  said  Dora,  "unless  it 
was  explained.  Now  about  the  Acts,  you 
know.    How  I  hated  the  Acts." 

"  Do  not  say  '  hate'  so  much,"  answered  her 
aunt.  "  It  seems  to  be  a  favourite  word  with 
you  to  express  dislike.  Now,  we  ought  not  to 
hate  anything  but  sin.  However,  we  have  an- 
other lesson  from  that  part  of  the  Testament  to- 
day ;  for  here  is  a  picture  of  Paul  preaching  at 
Athens,  and  if  we  find  out  all  about  this,  Fan- 
nie's  question  will  be  answered." 

"What  did  Fannie  wish  to  know,  aunt,  I 
forget." 

"Why,  don't  you  remember,  I  asked  how 
Paul  could  be  an  apostle,  and  then  you  said 
something  about"  the  Epistles.  Please,  mamma, 
will  you  talk  to  us  to-day,  for  neither  Carrie  nor 
I  remember  about  it." 


PAUL  PREACHING  AT  ATHENS.  155 


What !  have  you  forgotten  the  conversion 
of  Saul,  Carrie?" 

"But  that  was  not  Paul,  mamma." 

"  Yes,  the  name  was  changed  to  Paul  after 
he  became  an  apostle.  What  do  you  remember 
about  it?" 

"  Why,  Saul  was  a  Jew,  and  did  not  like  the 
Christians  at  all.  He  helped  Herod  to  perse- 
cute them ;  and  once  he  was  on  a  journey,  try- 
ing to  bring  all  he  could  to  Jerusalem,  that  they 
might  be  punished.  He  was  near  Damascus, 
when  there  was  such  a  terrible  light  shining 
down  from  heaven,  that  he  was  very  much 
frightened.    Then  there  was  a  voice  that  said, 

"  '  Saul,  Saul,  why  persecutest  thou  me  V  " 

"  Oh,  I  remember  that  myself,  now,"  said 
Fannie.  "  You  read  it  to  us,  mamma,  one 
Sunday,  just  before  Dora  came." 

"  And  what  happened  after  that— did  he  He 
there  on  the  ground  ?" 

"  Why,  he  asked  who  it  was  that  spoke  to 
him,  and  the  same  voice  answered  and  told  him, 
that  it  was  the  Saviour  he  was  persecuting." 

"  How  could  he  persecute  the  Saviour,  if  he 
had  gone  back  to  heaven  ?"  asked  Fannie. 


156  PAUL  PREACHING  AT  ATHENS. 

Do  you  remember  our  Lord  once  said,  that 
if  we  did  anything  for  his  disciples,  it  was  the 
same  as  if  we  did  it  for  him  ?  And  it  is  so  if 
his  children  are  persecuted." 

"Then  Saul  was  blind,  wasn't  he,  mamma? 
And  I  don't  remember  any  more." 

Yes,  when  he  rose  he  could  not  see  at  all ; 
but  the  voice  had  told  him  to  go  to  Damascus, 
and  his  duty  would  be  pointed  out  to  him.  So 
the  men  that  were  with  him  led  him  to  the  city, 
where  one  of  the  disciples  was  directed  to  meet 
him,  and  restore  his  sight.  The  Lord  had  told 
this  disciple  that  Saul  was  chosen  to  be  a  great 
teacher  of  the  true  faith,  among  the  Gentiles, 
or  people  who  w^ere  not  Jews.  After  Saul  re- 
ceived his  sight  again,  he  was  baptized  at  once, 
and  began  to  be  as  busy  in  the  work  of  Christ 
as  he  had  been  against  him.  He  did  not  put  it 
off,  or  wait  until  he  had  reached  another  city. 
But  there,  in  Damascus,  where  he  had  come  to 
torment  the  Christians,  he  went  among  the  Jews 
instead,  and  told  them  all  that  he  believed  the 
new  faith  was  right. 

''It  w^as  such  a  wonderful  conversion  that 
many  began  to  inquire  about  the  matter,  and  to 


PAUL  PREACHING  AT  ATHENS.  157 


listen  to  his  preaching;  though  at  first  the 
disciples  could  hardly  believe  that  it  was  a  real 
change.  But  the  Jews  began  to  dislike  him, 
and  talk  among  themselves  about  killing  him. 
There  were  high  walls  about  all  the  cities  then, 
with  gates,  in  and  out  of  which  every  one  passed. 
So  their  plan  was,  to  kill  him  as  he  went  through 
one  of  these  gates.  But  his  new  friends  found 
it  out,  and  let  him  down  from  the  wall  in  a  bas- 
ket.   So  he  escaped  them." 

''Oh,  that  w^as  so  nice!"  exclaimed  Dora, 
who  had  been  listening  with  the  deepest  interest. 

''But  there 's  nothing  about  that  in  the  pic- 
ture," said  Fannie,  who  held  it.  "Here  is 
Paul  in  the  midst  of  a  great  many  beautiful 
houses,  that  look  like  the  pictures  of  Girard 
College,  and  there  is  a  crowd  of  people  about 
him.  It  says  underneath,  'Paul  Preaching  at 
Athens,' " 

"  That  was  long  after  what  I  have  been  tell- 
ing you  happened.  Paul  had  become  a  great 
teacher  among  the  Christians.  For  in  the  first 
place,  he  was  a  man  of  much  learning,  and  had 
been  educated  by  one  of  the  best  scholars  in 
the  world.   Then  he  had  so  much  zeal,  that  is, 


158         PAUL  PREACHING  AT  ATHENS. 

such  a  warm  desire  to  do  all  that  he  could  to 
atone  for  his  early  sins,  that  he  was  never  weary 
of  labouring  for  the  church. 

There  is  one  story  about  him,  where  he 
went  with  Barnabas  to  Lystra,  and  healed  a 
cripple  that  had  never  walked  at  all.  The  peo- 
ple, who  were  idolators,  said  that  the  gods  had 
come  down  from  heaven,  to  visit  them,  and 
they  wanted  to  make  a  sacrifice  to  them.  The 
priest  of  Jupiter,  the  principal  god  of  their  wor- 
ship, brought  beautiful  oxen,  adorned  with  gar- 
lands of  flowers,  to  the  gate  of  the  city ;  and  all 
that  Paul  could  say,  hardly  persuaded  them 
that  their  visitors  were  only  men  like  themselves. 

"  It  was  after  that  w^e  find  Paul  waiting  at 
Athens,  the  most  beautiful  city  of  Greece,  and, 
indeed,  of  the  whole  world,  at  that  time.  He 
was  obliged  to  remain  there,  as  his  friends  did 
not  return,  and  it  grieved  him  very  much  to  see 
the  idolatry  of  the  people.  When  you  study 
history,  you  will  read  a  great  deal  about  Greece, 
and  the  gods  which  they  worshipped  there. 
There  were  more  learned  men  in  the  place  than 
in  all  the  rest  of  the  world.  Paul  would  reprove 
the  people  for  their  idol  worship.    He  could 


PAUL  1>REACHING  AT  ATHENS.  159 


not  see  them  so  blind  and  ignorant  without  try- 
ing to  make  them  better.  So  some  of  the  wise 
men  heard  about  him,  and  brought  him  to  Mars' 
Hill,  a  great  public  place  of  resort,  and  asked 
him  to  explain  the  new  doctrine. 

"  He  was  only  too  glad  to  do  this,  and  though 
some  ridiculed  what  he  said,  there  were  others 
who  turned  from  their  many  idols,  to  follow  the 
one  true  God.  This  place  where  Paul  is  stand- 
ing  is  Mars'  Hill,  and  you  can  see  how  great  a 
stir  a  sermon  preached  so  publicly  must  have 
made." 

"  Oh,  tell  us  more  about  Paul,"  they  all  said, 
as  Mrs.  Elliott  told  them  the  lesson  was  finished! 

So  she  promised  them  to  go  on  with  his  life 
the  next  Sunday,  which  was  to  be  the  last  but 
one  that  Dora  would  pass  at  Oatlands. 


THE  SIXTEENTH  PICTURE. 


PAUL  SHIPWRECKED. 

"Oh,  dear!  how  dreadful!"  exclaimed  Dora, 
as  Mrs.  Elliott  handed  her  the  picture,  which 
she  was  to  explain  to  them  the  next  Sunday 
afternoon. 

"  Why,  that 's  Peter  w^alking  on  the  water  !'^ 
said  Fannie,  peeping  over  her  shoulder. 

"No,  for  where  is  the  Saviour — and  this 
person  is  climbing  up  by  rocks,  when  Peter 
sank- down  in  the  middle  of  the  sea.'' 

"  I  think  it  must  be  Paul,"  said  Carrie,  "  for 
mamma  said  there  would  be  more  about  him 
to-day.    I  wonder  if  he  was  drowned 

"  And  did  he  come  out  of  that  ship,  mamma  ? 

(160) 


PAUL  SHIPWRECKED.  IQl 

What  great  high,  white  waves,  Dora.  I  think 
he  must  have  been  drowned,  don't  you 

"  Wei],  we  shall  find  out'  all  about  it  before 
the  lesson  is  over.  Though  it  will  be  a  short 
one,  for  I  am  not  as  strong  as  usual,  and  your 
papa  is  coming  to  read  to  me,  after  the  afternoon 
service.    See,  there  are  but  two  more  pictures 

"I  wish  Lewis  and  Henry  were  here,"  said 
Fanme,  as  they  drew  their  little  chairs  closer  to 
their  kind  teacher. 

"I  guess  they  wish  so,  too,"  said  her  sister. 
Lewis  said  so  in  his  letter  to  papa.    I  wish 
he  was  home  always." 

"And  that  Henry  and  I  lived  here,  too" 
added  Dora,  who  did  not  like  to  think  about 
going  back  home,  as  the  time  for  leaving  Oat- 
lands  drew  rapidly  near. 

u  .^r '"'^"^  said  Fannie. 

Well,  httle  birds,  if  you  have  done  chatter- 
ing with  each  other,  we  will  see  what  can  be 
found  about  this  shipwreck,"  said  Mrs.  Elhott 
looking  up  suddenly.    "And  first  you  must 
remember  that  Paul  had  to  travel,  or  did  travH 
a  great  deal.  He  is  sometimes  called  the  apostle 


162 


PAUL  SHIPWRECKED. 


of  the  Gentiles,  because  he  went  most  among 
them,  and  they  were  scattered  about  through 
the  country.  So  he  went  from  one  church  to 
another,  teaching  them,  and  strengthening  them 
in  their  times  of  trouble  and  persecution.  Some- 
times he  was  alone.  On  other  journeys  differ- 
ent disciples  went  with  him. 

"  He  was  often  in  great  peril  and  danger. 
Once  w^hen  at  Ephesus,  the  people  rose  in 
great  uproar,  and  wanted  to  kill  him.  They 
accused  him  of  destroying  the  faith  of  all  the 
country  in  Diana,  who  was  the  goddess  of  that 
city.  But  the  public  officers  interfered,  and 
saved  him,  though  he  w^as  obhged  to  leave  the 
city. 

"After  a  long  time  passed  in  this  way,  Paul 
began  to  feel  that  his  work  was  nearly  com- 
pleted. Like  our  Saviour,  he  knew  that  the 
Jews  wished  to  kill  him,  and  yet  he  felt  that  he 
must  go  up  to  Jerusalem,  whatever  happened. 
He  called  all  his  friends  together,  and  told  them 
this ;  then  he  exhorted  them  to  be  strong  in  the 
service  of  their  Master,  and  after  that  he  bade 
them  a  sorrowful  farewell.  They  felt  that  he 
would  not  return  again.    His  journey  to  Jeru- 


PAUL  SHIPWRECKED. 


163 


salem  was  made  very  slowly,  and  at  last  they 
came  to  Cesarea.  It  was  in  this  place  that  one 
named  Agabus,  took  Paul's  girdle,  and  bound 
his  own  hands  and  feet.  No  doubt  the  disci- 
ples thought  this  a  strange  thing  to  do,  and 
asked  him  what  it  meant.  So  he  answered, 
that  the  Jews  at  Jerusalem  should  thus  bind  the 
man  to  whom  the  girdle  belonged.  Then  every 
one  tried  to  persuade  Paul  to  stay  away  from 
the  danger,  for  they  loved  him  very  much.  His 
answer  was  full  of  holy  resolution — 

" '  What  mean  ye  to  weep^  and  to  break  my 
hearth  for  I  am  ready ^  not  to  be  bound  only^ 
but  also  to  die  at  Jerusalem^  for  the  name  of  the 
Lord  Jesus, 

"  They  knew,  then,  that  nothing  could  change 
his  purpose.    So  they  answered — 

"  ^  The  loill  of  the  Lord  be  done,^ 

"  The  last  temptation  to  turn  aside  from  his 
duty  was  overcome,  and  he  went  into  the  city 
of  Jerusalem,  prepared  to  meet  anything  which 
might  happen  to  him  there. 

"  I  have  not  time  to  tell  you  how  it  all  came 
about ;  but  the  Jews  made  the  people  very 
angry  with  Paul,  for  preaching  the  Christian 


164 


PAUL  SHIPWRECKED. 


faith,  and  finally  he  was  led,  bound  as  had  been 
prophesied,  to  answer  for  what  he  had  done, 
before  the  people. 

^^He  stood  on  the  castle  stairs,  and  told  them 
all  about  his  life,  and  how  he  had  been  con- 
verted from  a  Jew  to  a  Christian.  But  he  was 
imprisoned,  and  though  he  afterwards  was  per- 
mitted to  defend  himself  before  the  governor, 
he  had  appealed  for  assistance  to  the  Roman 
king,  and  it  was  necessary  to  send  him  to  Italy. 
It  was  not  so  easy  in  those  days,  as  it  is  now, 
to  travel.  There  were  no  steamships  or  railroad 
cars,  and  the  journey  was  very  long  and  dan- 
gerous. They  went  in  a  ship,  under  the  care 
of  Roman  soldiers,  and  sailed  slowly  along  the 
coast  of  Asia.  Once  they  stopped  at  the  island 
of  Crete,  and  here  Paul  told  them  they  had 
better  stay  all  winter,  for  he  knew  the  voyage 
would  be  dangerous.  But  they  would  not 
listen  to  him,  and  set  out  again.  Not  long 
after  they  left  the  shore,  a  terrible  tempest  came 
on.  The  ship  became  quite  unmanageable,  and 
they  were  obliged  to  let  it  drive  on  before  the 
wind. 

"They  cast  overboard  all  that  they  could 


PAUL  SHIPWRECKED. 


165 


find,  to  lighten  it,  and  finally  were  obliged  to 
cut  away  the  sails.    Still  she  drove  on  before 
the  storm,  and  for  many  days  they  could  see 
neither  the  sun  or  stars,  the  clouds  were  drifting 
so  darkly  above  them.    Paul  was  the  only  one 
who  did  not  give  up  all  hope.    He  told  them 
that  an  angel  of  God  had  appeared  to  him,  and 
said  that  there  should  be  no  lives  lost,  but  that 
the  ship  would  be  cast  upon  an  island.  This 
was  fourteen  days  after  the  storm  first  com- 
menced, and  about  midnight  one  of  the  sailors 
cried  out  that  they  were  near  land.    But  they 
knew  nothing  of  the  coast,  as  they  had  drifted 
a  long  way  from  their  course.    So  they  all  as- 
sembled on  deck,  and  waited  for  the  daylight 
with  the  greatest  anxiety.    They  had  not  eaten 
anything  in  many  days,  they  had  been  so  much 
alarmed;  but  Paul  advised  them  to  be  of  '  good 
cheer,'  and  when  morning  came  they  discovered 
a  small  island  near  them. 

"But  the  ship  could  not  gain  it.  All  at  once, 
there  was  a  dull,  grating  sound,  a  heavy  shock, 
and  the  great  waves  began  to  beat  over  the 
vessel.  She  had  struck  upon  a  rock,  and  was 
breaking  in  pieces.    Now  there  was  a  terrible 


166 


PAUL  SHIPWRECKED. 


confusion;  for  the  only  hope  was,  that  they 
might  be  able  to  swim  to  the  shore.  Some  of 
the  soldiers  proposed  to  kill  all  the  prisoners, 
for  fear  they  might  escape.  But  their  captain 
knew  that  it  was  Paul  who  had  saved  their 
lives,  by  his  good  advice  and  his  courage,  so  he 
would  not  listen  to  this ;  and  one  after  another 
cast  themselves  into  the  sea.  Some  were  not 
able  to  swim ;  but  they  fastened  themselves  to 
planks  and  pieces  of  the  ship,  and  so  floated 
safely  through  the  cold,  w^intry  weaves." 

And  did  they  all  come  safely  to  land,  aunt 
Margaret  ?    Just  as  Paul  had  said  ?" 

"  Yes — there  was  not  one  lost ;  and  the  people  ^ 
of  the  island,  although  they  were  savages,  re- 
ceived them  very  kindly,  and  took  care  of  them 
all  winter," 

'^And  this  is  Saint  Paul,  swimming  to  the 
shore.  Oh,  now  I  see  how"  dreadful  it  must 
have  been.  What  a  black  sky,  and  such  roar- 
ing waves !" 

How  do  you  know  they  were  roaring  waves, 
Fannie  ?"  asked  her  sister. 

Well,  I 'm  sure  they  look  so.  But  what 
became  of  Paul,  mam.ma  ?  Did  he  get  safely 
to  Rome,  after  all  ?" 


PAUL  SHIPWRECKED. 


167 


"  There  was  another  vessel  at  the  island,  that 
was  waiting  there  all  winter.  In  the  spring, 
Paul  was  put  among  the  passengers,  and  at  last, 
after  much  peril,  he  arrived  safely  at  Rome." 

And  here  comes  papa  with  his  book,"  said 
Fannie, 

"  And  I  have  only  one  Sunday  more  at  Oat- 
lands.  Just  think  of  it,  girls,"  said  Dora,  as 
they  left  the  room. 


SEVENTEENTH  PICTURE- 


ST.  JOHN. 

A  LETTER  from  your  father,  Dora,"  said  Mr, 
Elliott,  at  the  breakfast-table,  the  next  morning. 

Oh,  from  papa!  and  is  he  well — when  will 
he  come,  uncle  Elliott  ?" 

"  Sooner  than  he  expected,  by  three  days. 
He  has  returned  from  the  west,  and  is  now  in 
Boston.  He  may  be  here  to-night,  when  I  re- 
turn from  the  city." 

''Arn't  you  very  happy,  Dora?"  said  her 
cousins. 

Very !"  answered  the  little  girl ;  but  for  all 
that,  her  lips  quivered,*^nd  the  tears  came  into 
her  eyes.  She  was  thinking  of  leaving  them  all ; 
and  though  she  was  happy  to  know  her  papa 

(168) 


ST.  JOHN,  269 

was  at  home  again,  she  did  not  wish  to  go  back 
to  her  prim  governess,  and  the  dull  Sundays 
she  must  pass. 

Mrs.  Elliott  had  come  down  to  breakfast  for 
the  first  time,  and  she  saw  what  Dora  was  think- 
mg  of.   So  to  turn  the  conversation,  she  said— 
"I  have  some  news  for  you,  girls  — the  pas- 
sion-flowers are  out." 

"Oh,  how  charming!"  they  all  exclaimed, 
and  everything  was  forgotten,  as  they  ran  up 
stairs,  two  steps  at  a  time,  to  see  them. 

Mrs.  Elliott  followed  more  slowly,  and  found 
them  on  the  piazza,  grouped  about  the  strange 
pale  flower,  in  wonder  and  delight.  It  was  not 
as  pretty  as  Dora  had  expected  ;  for  she  thought 
It  would  have  been  more  like  the  deep  crimson 
blossom  of  the  cactus.  But  the  soft  blue  fringe 
with  Its  purple  tip,  fell  lightly  around  the  curious 
stamen  and  pistil  that  stood  up  so  boldly  in  the 
centre,  and  it  seemed  more  interesting  the  longer 
they  looked  upon  it. 

Mrs.  Elliott  proposed  that  they  should  finish 
go  before  another 
Sunday.   But  before  she  opened  it,  she  read  to 
them  a  poem  about  the  passion-flower,  written 


170 


ST.  JOHN. 


by  Mary  Howitt,  which  explained  how  it  came 
to  be  called  by  that  name. 

I  love  the  good  old  passion-flower! 

It  bringeth  to  my  mind 
The  young  days  of  the  Christian  church, 

Dim  ages  left  behind. 

I  see  the  bloody  streets  of  Rome, 
The  throng  —  the  burning  pyre, 

And  Christians  stand,  with  clasped  hands, 
Amid  the  raging  fire. 

I  hear  the  women,  angel-toned. 

The  men  with  courage  high, 
Preach  their  dear  Lord,  amid  their  pangs, 

Forgive  their  foes,  and  die. 

I  see,  far  from  the  world  apart, 

In  desert  places  dwell. 
The  early  fathers  of  the  church, 

In  wood  or  mountain  cell. 

And  there  the  wondering  thousands  came, 

By  love  and  pity  brought. 
To  hear  them  tell  of  Jesus  Christ, 

And  the  new  truths  he  taught. 

I  see  the  fearless  fathers  stand 

Amid  the  eager  throng, 
Preaching,  like  Paul  at  Athens, 

In  burning  words,  and  strong. 


ST.  JOHN. 


171 


Again,  I  see  a  lonely  man, 

Of  spirit  sad  and  mild, 
Who  hath  his  little  dwelling-place 

Amid  a  region  wild. 

The  wild  flowers  of  the  desert 
Grow  round  him  thick  as  weeds, 

And  in  their  beautiful  array, 
Of  holy  things  he  reads. 

The  red  is  the  dear  blood  of  Christ, 

The  white,  the  pure  from  sin. 
The  yellow  is  the  seamless  robe 

Christ  was  appareled  in. 

All  four-leaved  flowers  bring  to  his  mind 

The  cross  whereon  he  died; 
And  every  thorn,  the  cruel  spear, 

That  pierced  his  blessed  side. 

I  see  him,  as  he  mused  one  day  ^ 

Beneath  a  forest  bower. 
With  clasped  hands  stand,  and  upturned  eyes, 

Before  an  open  flower; 
Exclaiming,  with  a  fervid  joy, 

"I  have  found  the  passion-flower!" 

The  passion  of  our  blessed  Lord^ 

With  all  his  pangs  and  pain. 
Set  forth  within  a  little  flower, 

In  shape  and  colour  plain! 


172 


ST.  JOHN. 


Behold  the  ladder,  aud  the  cord 
With  which  his  limbs  were  tied  I 

Behold  the  five  deep,  cruel  wounds, 
In  hands,  and  feet,  and  side  I 

Behold  the  hammer  and  the  nails — ■ 

The  bloody  crown  of  thornsr'; 
And  there  his  precious  tears  were  left, 

Of  God  and  man  forlorn! 

Up,  I  will  forth  into  the  world, 

And  take  this  flower  with  me, 
To  preach  the  death  of  Christ  to  all, 

As  it  has  preached  to  me. 

And  thus  the  good  old  passion-flower 
Throughout  the  world  was  sent, 

To  breathe  into  all  Christian  hearts 
Its  holy  sentiment. 

^'This  is  the  crown  of  thorns/'  said  Dora, 
pointing  eagerly  to  the  purple  fringe. 

And  this  in  the  centre  is  the  hammer,  and 
those  the  nails.  How  plain  it  is,  mamma,  and 
w^hat  a  beautiful  story  dear  Mrs.  Ho^^dtt  has 
written  about  it." 

"But  what  does  this  picture  mean.^"  asked 
Carrie,  who  w^as  looking  at  one  Mrs.  Elhott 
held  in  her  hands.    "  It  is  the  sweetest  one  of 


ST.  JOHN. 


173 


all,  girls— a  dear  little  boy,  and  a  most  beauti- 
ful lamb." 

It  is  called  St.  John,  my  dear.  Don't  you 
remember  in  the  first  part  of  the  Testament, 
John  the  Baptist  pointed  to  our  Saviour,  and 
said,  'Behold  the  Lamb  of  God,  ivhich  taketh 
away  the  sin  of  the  world  ! '  " 

"  Yes,  and  then  you  explained  to  us,  mamma, 
how  he  did  Uake  away  the  sin  of  the  world," 
answered  Carrie. 

Why,  I  thought  the  world  was  very  wicked, 
now,  aunt.    How  can  both  things  be  ?" 

"  Christ  died  while  all  the  earth  was  sinful, 
that  those  who  ask  for  pardon  may  be  saved. 
Satan,  or  the  spirit  of  evil,  has  still  power  over 
those  who  Hve.  It  is  permitted  for  a  certain 
time.    But  when  we  pray, 

^  Thy  kingdom  come,^ 
we  ask  our  heavenly  Father  to  destroy  the  king- 
dom of  Satan,  as  he  will  do  some  day.  The 
picture  of  St.  John  and  the  lamb  is  what  is 
called  figurative,  for  he  was  a  man,  when  he 
pointed  his  disciples  to  Jesus  as  the  lamb  of 
the  world.    Here  is  d^nother ,  figurative  also. 


THE  EIGHTEENTH  AND  LAST 
PICTURE. 


AN  ANGEL  BINDING  SATAN. 
"  This  is  to  illustrate  what  I  have  just  told  you, 
that  the  spirit  of  evil  would  one  day  be  de- 
stroyed. It  is  represented  here,  as  in  the  pic- 
ture of  the  Temptation,  as  the  figure  of  a  fear- 
ful monster.  The  angel  is  the  stronger  power 
of  good,  that  will  overcome  Satan's  kingdom. 
Then  indeed  shall  '  the  lamb  of  God  take  away 
the  sin  of  the  world,'  for  this  victory  is  given 
by  our  Father  in  heaven  for  Christ's  sake. 

''I  do  not  expect  you  to  understand  these 
things  now;  you  will  read  for  yourselves,  as 
you  grow  older.  But  this  you  can  always  re- 
member, that  there  are  wicked  thoughts  and 
wishes  in  your  hearts,  sent  there  by  this  evil 
power,  and  you  can  overcome  them  by  the  as- 
sistance of  God's  Holy  Spirit.  Then  at  last 
Satan  will  be  bound  in  your  souls,  and  you  will 
look  to  the  Lamb  of  God,  to  take  away  your  sin." 

(174) 


AN  ANGEL  BINDING  SATAN.  175 

"  How  beautiful  it  will  be  when  there  is  no- 
thing wrong  in  the  whole  wide  world,  mamma." 

"  Not  really  more  beautiful  than  to  see  a  hu- 
man heart  pure  and  holy.  We  cannot  expect 
to  live  until  evil  is  taken  from  the  world,  but  we 
can  struggle  every  day  to  do  rightly  ourselves." 

"If  every  one  did  perfectly  right,  just  for 
themselves,  the  kingdom  of  God  would  be  here 
on  earth,  mamma." 

"That  is  very  true,  my  daughter.  We 
should  have  a 

'  Little  heaven  below,' 
as  your  favourite  hymn  says." 

"  Oh,  I  wish  I  was  all  good,  and  never  could 
do  wrong  again,"  said  Dora.  "  How  can  I  be 
good,  aunt  Margaret  ?" 

"By  obeying  all  the  rules  of  the  Bible,  my 
dear." 

"  And  that  is  why  people  read  the  Bible.  I 
always  thought  it  was  just  because  they  must 
read  it." 

"And  now  you  see  why  all  who  are  really 
trying  to  do  right,  study  the  rules  that  are  given 
to  them  here.  You  never  could  be  obedient  if 
you  did  not  know  what  you  were  expected  to  do." 


176  AN  ANGEL  BINDING  SATAN. 

How  different  the  Bible  seems  now,  aunt 
Margaret.  I  do  not  think  it  at  all  tiresome. 
And  Sunday— I  used  to  hate  Sunday  so." 


Before  I  finish  this  little  story,  I  must  tell  you 
what  an  agreeable  surprise  Dora  had,  when  her 
father  arrived  that  afternoon.  He  told  her,  that 
with  her  aunt's  permission,  she  was  to  remain 
always  with  her  cousins,  until  she  was  large 
enough  to  go  to  boarding-school.  He  saw  that 
she  w^as  happier  there,  and  he  knew  that  she 
could  not  have  a  better  teacher  than  Mrs.  EUiott. 

Every  one  in  the  house  was  pleased  with  this 
decision,  and  Dora's  papa  promised  to  come 
very  often  to  visit  her.  There  were  many  more 
Bible  lessons  in  Mrs.  Elliott's  room,  and  some 
very  pleasant  ones  when  Lewis  and  Henry  paid 
another  visit,  at  the  end  of  the  term.  Dora 
could  never  be  grateful  enough  to  her  kind  aunt, 
who  had  made  Sunday  a  happy  instead  of  a 
weary  day ;  and  the  pretty  Bible  which  she  re- 
ceived on  her  next  birthday,  has  been  read  and 
re-read  many  times. 


THE  END. 


^  ^'  7  23  OS 


